Credit: Public domain.
Collapsing birth rates and a shrinking youth population haven’t kept South Korea’s private tutoring industry from growing. According to a report by the Ministry of Education 교육부 and the Bureau of Statistics 통계청, Koreans spent KRW 29.2t (USD 20.1b) on K-12 tutoring in 2024, a new record. Hagwon 학원 spending increased for the fourth consecutive year, though the number of K-12 students declined by more than 80k from 2023.
The private tutoring industry has managed to grow in part by targeting ever-younger students. The report showed parents of pre-K students spending an average of KRW 340k (USD 234) per student per month on English tutoring, more than the KRW 320k per student per month average for high students. More hagwons are offering tutoring for children as young as four years old, preparing toddlers for an exam determining admission to more prestigious hagwons for their kindergarten and elementary school years.
