Korean households spend more on tutoring than food, housing

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Finance

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 07:59

Economy

Korean households spend more on tutoring than food, housing

Posted : 2023-06-25 16:27

Updated : 2023-06-26 16:14

A boy studies English at his home in Seoul in this Feb. 20 file photo. Korea Times file

By Lee Yeon-woo

Kim, a housewife in Seoul who asked to be identified only by her surname, has recently found herself clashing with her husband over tutoring expenses for their 13-year-old child.

"Tutoring expenses are now the largest burden on our household budget. I am trying my best to reduce the number of classes that my kid attends, but it's hard to decide which ones to drop. Each subject is considered important to have good grades in middle school, and I don't want my child to be left behind," Kim told The Korea Times.

She said that her child is taking English, mathematics, writing and taekwondo classes, emphasizing that other children in her neighborhood are "doing this much or even more."

Another mother, who has a three-year-old and a seven-year-old, expressed her anxieties to The Korea Times. Despite being a devoted mother who quit her job to fully commit to the job of raising her children, she cannot help but feel overwhelmed as she becomes aware of other mothers investing millions of won in privately educating their children, known in Korea as "hagwon."

"If I try to keep up with other parents, I don't think I could ensure financial security for my old age," said Yoon who also asked to be identified only by her surname. "I hadn't realized that children would need so much private education as they move up in grades. At one point, I even regretted staying at home, instead of continuing to work."

Kim and Yoon's anxiety reflects the reality that Korean households are spending a significant proportion of their income on tutoring their children. According to recent data from Statistics Korea, private tutoring expenses even exceed spending on food or housing for the first quarter of this year.

A student passes by a street lined with private tutoring academies, known as "hagwon," in Daechidong, southern Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

The data showed that those in the top twenty percent income bracket on average (mean) spent 1.14 million won ($869) monthly on tutoring their children aged between 13 and 18. This accounted for 17.5 percent of their monthly income, which stood at 6.53 million won.

The money spent on tutoring was close to the combined amount spent on food and housing, which was on average 636,000 won and 539,000 won, respectively.

Households with lower incomes were no different. Those in the bottom 20 percent spent an average of 482,000 won on tutoring, 481,000 won on food and 356,000 won on housing.

"Even though we have to tighten our belts, what else we can do? I want to provide everything for my child," said Kim.

By region, Seoul's average monthly spending on private education was the highest at 596,000 won. This was followed by Gyeonggi Province (446,000 won), Daegu (437,000 won) and Sejong (418,000 won).

The rate of students receiving private education was also the highest in Seoul at 84.3 percent. Gyeonggi Province and Sejong followed closely with 82.1 percent and 80.5 percent, respectively. In Seoul, 91.2 percent of elementary students residing in the capital are engaged in private education.

In an effort to alleviate the burden on parents, the government will announce comprehensive countermeasures on the private education industry on Monday. The Ministry of Education declared that it would eliminate unfair practices in the private education sector, which threaten public education and place severe financial burdens on students and their parents.

yanu@koreatimes.co.kr