The Mounting Cost of Education: Private Tutoring Expenses Skyrocket for Families
Families with two or more children are facing a dramatic surge in private education expenses, with costs nearly doubling since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This escalating expenditure is pushing the proportion of private education spending within household budgets to an all-time high. Despite a declining school-age population attributed to low birth rates, the overall private education market is experiencing a significant boom. This growth is fueled by parents enrolling their children in supplementary educational programs at increasingly younger ages, even before they formally enter elementary school.
A Deep Dive into Household Spending
Data reveals a stark financial reality for households. In the third quarter of last year (July-September), the average monthly expenditure on private education, commonly referred to as “student academy tuition,” for households with two or more unmarried children reached 611,000 Korean won. This figure encompasses a wide range of supplementary and advanced learning costs, not just for students in primary, middle, and high school, but also for infants, toddlers, and those retaking university entrance exams.
When placed in the context of overall household spending, private education costs represent a substantial portion. Last year, these expenses accounted for 12.6% of the average monthly consumption expenditure, which stood at 4,858,000 Korean won. This makes private education the third-largest spending category, trailing only dining out (720,000 Korean won) and grocery shopping (688,000 Korean won). Notably, it significantly surpassed essential expenditures such as housing and heating costs (437,000 Korean won) and was three times higher than spending on clothing and footwear (195,000 Korean won).
A Five-Year Trajectory of Escalation
The scale of private education expenditure has seen a rapid and consistent increase. While there was a dip in average monthly spending from 427,000 Korean won in 2019 to 340,000 Korean won in 2020, largely attributed to the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend quickly reversed. Over the past five years, the costs have nearly doubled. The years 2021 and 2022 witnessed particularly sharp growth, with double-digit increases influenced by a post-pandemic rebound effect. This upward momentum continued into last year, with consistent quarterly growth rates of 7.3% in the first quarter, 2.6% in the second, and 4.6% in the third.
The proportion of private education costs within household budgets has also been on a steady ascent. Since statistics began tracking this in 2019 at 11.5%, the figure experienced a slight dip to 9.2% in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, it has since climbed back, reaching 11.2% in 2021, 12.5% in 2022, and 12.6% in 2023. Projections for 2024 indicate a further rise to 12.8%. The second quarter of last year marked a record high of 13.5%, suggesting that the annual figure for that year is likely to be the highest on record.
The Expanding Private Education Market
Despite a shrinking pool of school-aged children, the total expenditure on private education has surged by over 60% in the last decade. In 2024, the total private education spending amounted to 29.1919 trillion Korean won, a significant increase from 18.2297 trillion Korean won recorded in 2014. While there was a decrease in total expenditure until 2015, it began to rebound from 2016 onwards, surpassing 20 trillion Korean won by 2019. Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused a dip to 19.3532 trillion Korean won in 2020, the market has been on an upward trajectory for four consecutive years since 2021.
Elementary Education: The Engine of Growth
The dramatic rise in elementary school private education spending has been a primary driver of the overall market growth. In 2024, total private education expenditure for elementary schools reached 13.2256 trillion Korean won, a substantial 74.1% increase compared to 2014’s figure of 7.5949 trillion Korean won. In contrast, middle schools experienced the lowest growth rate in private education spending during the same period, at 40.7%, while high schools saw an increase of 60.5%. In terms of sheer volume, elementary school private education costs were significantly higher, standing at 1.7 times and 1.6 times those of middle schools (7.8338 trillion Korean won) and high schools (8.1324 trillion Korean won), respectively.
The average monthly private education expenditure per elementary school student in 2024 hit a record high of 442,000 Korean won. This represents a staggering increase of 210,000 Korean won, or 90.5%, compared to a decade ago. General academic subjects accounted for 278,000 Korean won of this expenditure, while arts, physical education, hobbies, and liberal arts combined amounted to 163,000 Korean won. For middle school students, per capita private education costs rose from 270,000 Korean won to 490,000 Korean won, an increase of 220,000 Korean won (81.5%). High school students saw the most dramatic percentage increase, with per capita costs surging from 230,000 Korean won to 520,000 Korean won, a rise of 290,000 Korean won (126.1%).
Shifting Participation and Early Entry
The participation rate in private education for elementary school students has also seen a significant uptick, reaching 87.7% in 2024. This is a 6.6 percentage point increase from ten years prior and is considerably higher than the participation rates for middle schools (78.0%) and high schools (67.3%). Interestingly, within elementary schools, the participation rate for arts, physical education, hobbies, and liberal arts (71.2%) was higher than for general subjects (67.1%). This trend is attributed by experts to the rise of dual-income households, with parents seeking after-school enrichment programs that fill the gap.
Experts identify the pursuit of advanced learning as a key factor behind the surge in elementary school private education. Phenomena such as the “4-year-old exam” and the “7-year-old exam” are symptomatic of this trend. The “4-year-old exam” refers to a level assessment for entry into infant English academies, while the “7-year-old exam” is an entrance requirement for prestigious English and math academies before children even begin formal elementary schooling.
In response to these escalating concerns about the excessive early-age privatization of education, government and legislative bodies are intensifying efforts to address the issue. A bill aimed at amending the Private Teaching Institutes Act, which seeks to prohibit level tests for infant English academies—commonly known as the “4-year-old and 7-year-old exams”—recently passed the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.
