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| Kang Won-woo, CEO of Massive Edu |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Kang Won-woo, CEO of Massive Edu, has a unique background as a young entrepreneur in the private education sector.
Kang is a famous lecturer teaching the English portion of the Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), but he majored in veterinary medicine and pharmacy.
"I studied medicine, because I always thought I wanted to do something that makes people lead healthy lives. Likewise, I wanted to do something meaningful for society, and I realized education was the right choice, because education enhances quality of life," he said.
This was the reason he changed his career from medicine to education.
"I tutored high school students for many years during my time at university. At that time, I realized that teachers play a critical role not only for instilling proper study habits in children, but also in the growth of an individual," Kang said.
Private education is a lucrative business in Korea.
Although the market has been dominated by business giants with huge capital, Massive Edu now has a reputation for being a reliable education service company that provides quality lectures for its students. It has been operating for three years.
Kang believes his management style is what differentiates him from other institutions.
"We don't focus on the super-star lecturer. We train every teacher to provide the same level of quality when presenting our curriculum, textbooks and the lecture itself," Kang said.
He has run a curriculum development team since he set up the group.
"Members of the team have to have a masters' or doctorate degree in education so that the material they offer are entirely professional," Kang said.
He also pointed out that the facilities provided to educators were also important so that employees felt more committed to their work.
"I want my employees to feel as if they are part of a group. This is the most important element that leads the group to success," Kang said.
The staff lounge is large, with a snack bar, cafeteria and a multi-media room for the employees.
"If I want to employ good teachers, I have to make the workplace good for people to work,"
Competent teachers will provide good lectures that ensure the company improves, he said.
His goal is to make the group the biggest education company in Korea by 2015. To embrace the demand from students for internet-related services, it also launched an internet lecture service at the beginning of this month.
