First graders in fierce competition

Children, who will become first-graders in March, pose with their mothers in a classroom at Donggyo Elementary School in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Jan.15.
/ Korea Times by Bae Woo-han

Prerequisite learning may hinder children's creativity

By Baek Byung-yeul, Nam Hyun-woo, Park Ji-won

Kim Jumg-mi, a 38-year-old office worker living in Seoul, experienced a bitter moment after attending her kid's elementary school orientation a few weeks ago.

"At the orientation, I found a group of mothers checking with each other on how many prerequisites they had enrolled their children in," Kim said.

"Also, they were all sharing information about which hagwon (cram school) has better English teaching programs and which one has better math instructors. I, who only could teach my kid how to write Hangeul (Korean alphabet) as I had to go to work, was so embarrassed," she added.

In fact, prerequisite learning is a rather outdated subject in Korea where many parents' education "fever" remains exceedingly high compared to that in other countries.

Many parents in Korea highly value providing their children with a high quality of education because they believe this guarantees a better way of life for their kids.

This year, this instinct seems to have become even stronger because the children were mostly born in 2007, the year with the highest birthrate in the 2000s at a time when the number of newborn children was falling.

Children entering elementary school pose with backpacks, wearing hanbok, or Korean traditional costumes, at Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, downtown Seoul, Jan. 16. / Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon

Some 493,000, a 10 percent increase from the previous year according to Statistics Korea, were born in 2007, a year referred to as the "Year of the Golden Pig," which comes once every 600 years.

In Seoul, 84,000 students, which is 7,000 students more than last year, are going to enter elementary school this year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Whether intended or not, possible concerns that "golden pig" children may be doomed to face unduly high competition against each other when taking college entrance exams or getting a job, and fierce competition was already a major issue here beginning with getting kindergarten admission a few years ago.

"To participate in the "lottery" for admission to a public preschool near my home, me and my husband had to wait all night long," Kim said.

Luckily Kim could win the lottery and have her kid sent to a public institute with relatively lower prices.

"This is not what I expected when giving birth to my child, but thinking of the future, I could see the necessity of sending my son to hagwon more," Kim said.

Kim, inspired by her peer school moms, said she has been sending her son to three private institutes.

"My son is now attending math, English and physical training hagwon. I feel that it might be too harsh for my seven-year-old, but I don't want my son getting behind his peers," Kim said.

Huh Sung-mi, another parent of a "golden pig" child said that sending her school kid to hagwon was "a painful necessity."

"I also want my kid to play in the playground more, but I feel uneasy about allowing that," Huh said.

"I was so frightened after seeing so many prospective students at the elementary school orientation. I am already worried about my son's college entrance exam."

"I think I am prepossessed with a thought that he would be far behind his classmates if I allow him to romp around," she added.

Activists opposing prerequisite learning and private tutoring claim that learning school materials earlier than they are supposed to may hinder children's creativity.

"After comparing teaching materials for preschool teachers with mathematics text books for first and second grade students, we've noticed that most preschool teaching aids are dealing with elementary school curricula," said Choi Soo-il, a leader of "No Prerequisite Learning, No Worries," an organization comprised of activists who are against the country's addiction to hagwon said in a forum held in September last year.

"Learning the elementary school curriculum earlier can temporarily improve the mathematical ability of children, but it will subsequently hinder their ability to think creatively," Choi added, calling for the government to ban prerequisite learning.

Further torments for "golden pig" parents are the prices of ridiculously expensive school supplies.

Han, a 36-year-old housewife living in Mok-dong, western Seoul, noticed that some students carried the same type of rectangular leather bag on their backs.

Han was surprised because the price of these Japanese backpacks was almost the same as a high-end luxury bag for adults.

"I heard that the price of backpacks imported from Japan starts from 300,000 won ($277) and moves up to 1.1 million won ($1,016)," Han said.

"Randosel" comes from a Dutch word "ransel" meaning backpack. The rectangular satchel is regarded as a must-have item for elementary school students in Japan, and the trend has become an epidemic here as well.

Han said she is seriously considering buying one for her daughter.

"Some may criticize me for buying such an expensive one for a first grade kid, but I don't want to see my daughter become discouraged. That is much more important for me," Han said.

Despite its high price, market insiders say that there has been a clear increase in sales.

"We have seen increased demands from the parents who were requested to buy one from their children," said a marketer selling the randosel backpack.

"Children feel it is very comfortable to wear because it is covered with leather. Also, the bags are known for helping the users retain an upright position," the seller added.

Besides the randosel sellers, other retailers distributing school supplies are enjoying soaring demand due to an increasing number of first graders.

The market insiders say that the increased selling started earlier than previous years.

"Traditionally, there has been increased demand of school supplies from February, one month ahead of the first school day, but this year customers are buying them earlier than usual because many people are worrying about items being sold out," another market insider said.