Why Korean Parents Send Their Kids to Hagwon — And What It Actually Costs
My daughter just started first grade this year. She is seven years old. And she already has a schedule.
After school, she goes to two hagwons. On weekends, she has art class and swimming lessons. My wife and I are both working full-time, so hagwons are not just about education — they are also childcare.
Every month, we spend around 900,000 won on lessons alone. That is roughly $650. And by Korean standards, we are considered moderate.
What Is a Hagwon?
A hagwon is a private after-school academy. They exist for almost every subject — English, math, coding, science, taekwondo, art, swimming, and piano. In Korea, hagwons are not a luxury. For most families, they are simply part of the daily routine.
There are two main types.
Academic Hagwons
These focus on school subjects — English, math, and Korean language. Most children start attending from the early years of elementary school and continue through high school. English hagwon and math hagwon are considered almost essential by most Korean parents.
Arts and Sports Hagwons
These cover subjects like art, swimming, piano, taekwondo, and ballet. They are not directly connected to academic grades, but parents send their children for overall development. Honestly, many parents send their kids simply because everyone else does.
Why Korean Parents Do This
This is the first question most foreigners ask. The honest answer is that it is not always about academic ambition.
The Practical Reason — Childcare
My wife and I both finish work in the evening. School ends in the early afternoon. Someone needs to watch our daughter during those hours. Hagwons solve that problem. They provide education and childcare at the same time. For working parents in Korea, hagwons function as an after-school care system.
The Social Reason — Everyone Else Is Doing It
There is another reason that is harder to explain. Simply put — everyone else is doing it.
When every child in your daughter’s class is attending English hagwon and math hagwon after school, not sending your own child feels like a risk. It is not always rational. But the pressure is very real.
According to Korean Ministry of Education statistics, more than 80 percent of Korean elementary school students attend at least one hagwon. That number explains why parents feel the way they do.
How Much Does Hagwon Actually Cost?
Our Family’s Real Monthly Cost
Here is what we spend each month, honestly.
| Category | Monthly Cost (KRW) | Monthly Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday hagwons (x2) | 630,000 won | approx. $460 |
| Weekend art class | 150,000 won | approx. $110 |
| Weekend swimming | 120,000 won | approx. $87 |
| Total | 900,000 won | approx. $657 |
This is for a first grader. And this does not include school supplies, field trip fees, or textbooks.
How Costs Change as Kids Get Older
The numbers above are just the beginning.
In the early years of elementary school, most families spend between 700,000 and 1,000,000 won per month. By upper elementary school, as subjects like advanced math, science, and essay writing are added, monthly costs typically rise to between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 won. In middle school, with university entrance preparation beginning in earnest, many families spend between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 won per month. By high school, spending above 3,000,000 won per month is not uncommon.
These are average figures. In education-focused areas like Gangnam or Mokdong, costs run significantly higher.
How Korean Parents Choose a Hagwon
Choosing a hagwon is more complicated than it sounds.
The first thing parents look at is the instructor. For English hagwons, whether there is a native speaker and how structured the curriculum is matters a great deal. For math hagwons, how far ahead of the school curriculum they teach is a major talking point among parents.
Location comes next. Can the child walk there from school? Does the hagwon provide a shuttle van? For working parents, how the child gets to and from the hagwon is a very practical concern.
Finally, there is reputation. When word spreads among parents in the same class that a certain hagwon is good, families naturally gravitate toward it. KakaoTalk group chats among school parents are effectively the main channel for sharing hagwon information in Korea.
Is There an Alternative?
Yes — but it is not easy.
Some parents choose to teach their children at home, or use libraries and online learning platforms instead. EBS online lectures and educational apps have become more popular in recent years, especially among families trying to manage costs without sacrificing learning quality.
But for working parents, managing childcare and education without hagwons is genuinely difficult. And the social pressure described earlier does not simply go away.
What Do Korean Kids Think?
My daughter does not complain. She accepts hagwons as a normal part of life — because all her friends go too.
But on weekends, when she has free time, she runs around the apartment, draws on her own, and invents her own games. That is when she looks happiest.
I sometimes wonder how many more hagwons it takes before that changes.
Final Thoughts
I honestly do not know whether all of this is worth it.
Research on the effectiveness of hagwons is mixed. Some studies suggest they improve academic outcomes. Others argue that over-reliance on private academies reduces children’s ability to study independently. There is no clear answer.
What I do know is this — in Korea, parents do not ask whether to send their child to hagwon. The question is always which ones, and how many.
If you are planning to move to Korea with a family, or simply trying to understand why Korean children seem to have such packed schedules, this is the reality. It is not about pressure from schools. It is not entirely about ambition either.
It is just how life works here.
