Private education spending in Korea hits another record high

Students walk in Mokdong hagwon in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Thursday as the total amount of private education expenses exceeded 27 trillion won, the highest amount ever for the third consecutive year. By Jae-Won Moon

Total household spending on private education exceeded 27 trillion won last year, marking the third consecutive year of record highs. Analysts say that the increase in private education expenses was driven by the frenzy of medical school entrance exams and anxiety that the style of the national college entrance exam may change. The higher the income, the higher the percentage of participation in private education and the higher the amount spent.
According to the data released by Statistics Korea on March 14, the total amount of private education expenses last year was 27.1 trillion won, up 4.5 percent (1.2 trillion won) from a year earlier. While the total number of students in elementary, middle, and high schools decreased by about 70,000 from the previous year to about 5.21 million, the total amount of private education expenses reached its highest level since 2007, when the statistics began to be compiled.

The total amount of private education spending has been on the rise for three consecutive years since 2020 (19.4 trillion won), when it fell 7.8 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although the Ministry of Education has set a goal to reduce the growth rate of private education expenses to within the inflation rate, it exceeded last year’s inflation rate of 3.6 percent. However, the increase slowed down compared to 21 percent in 2021 and 10.8 percent in 2022.

The increase in private education expenses was led by high school students. The total amount of private education spending for high school students stood at 7.5 trillion won, up 8.2 percent from the previous year. This was nearly double the increase rate of the total private education spending for elementary, middle, and high school students, and the highest increase rate in seven years since 2016 (8.7 percent).

Analysts attribute the increase to the fact that many high school students rushed to private education institutes after the controversy over the exclusion of difficult questions from the college entrance exam erupted in June last year, fearing that the style of the exam may change.

The average monthly private education expenses per person increased 5.8 percent to 434,000 won. The average monthly expense per person increased across all school levels, with elementary school students at 398,000 won (up 6.8 percent), middle school students at 449,000 won (up 2.6 percent), and high school students at 491,000 won (up 6.9 percent). When narrowed down to students participating in private education, the expense per person increased by 5.5 percent to 553,000 won.

By subject, the average monthly private education expenses per person was highest for English (128,000 won) across elementary, middle, and high schools, followed by math (122,000 won), Korean (38,000 won), and social studies and science (19,000 won).

The gap in private education spending between high-income and low-income households remained large. Households earning more than 8 million won per month spent an average of 671,000 won per month on private education, compared to 183,000 won per month for households earning less than 3 million won, more than three times the difference. The participation rate in private education was higher among higher-income households, with 87.9 percent of households earning more than 8 million won per month and only 57.2 percent of those earning less than 3 million won per month.

By region, Seoul spent the most on private education. In 2023, the private education spending per student in Seoul averaged 628,000 won per month, a difference of more than 200,000 won from metropolitan cities (427,000 won), small and medium-sized cities (425,000 won), and rural areas (289,000 won).

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.