"Over 2 Million Won a Month"… Struggling with the Tricks of 'Winter Vacation Special Lectures'

Intensive Special Lecture Marketing in Academy District Overheating... Unlimited Courses Offered for Problem Solving and Special-Purpose High School Preparation
Tuition Raised with Crowded Students, Parents Concerned About Poor Ventilation and Emergency Situations

The appearance of the academy district in Daechi-dong, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "It hasn't even been half a month since I paid 2 million won for the winter vacation special lecture, and now with all these notices to apply for the Lunar New Year holiday special lectures, I'll probably end up spending tens of thousands of won again without a second thought." (Parent of a high school sophomore in Daechi-dong)

The 'special lecture marketing' is overheating in the academy districts during the winter vacation. Although this is a recurring event every vacation, amid continuous changes in education and college entrance policies, the competition for special lectures in academies this winter is expanding more aggressively.

Lee, who has a son in the second year of middle school (Ilsan, Gyeonggi), paid 1.62 million won this month just for math and science academies. This amount includes winter vacation special lectures and weekend classes, and she paid an additional 240,000 won for gifted high school entrance exam preparation classes. She usually spends about 1.1 million won on academy fees during the semester, but since the vacation started, it has risen to 2.2 million won.

The parents of B, a prospective high school student (Gireum-dong, Seoul), spent a total of 2.5 million won on academy fees in January. The math winter school, which manages students all day long, costs 1.15 million won, and the advanced English and math classes are 400,000 won each. The weekend Korean and science classes cost 300,000 won and 250,000 won respectively. B's mother said, "At this crucial time before entering high school, we can't be stingy about academy fees."

An administrator at an entrance exam academy in Gangnam said, "Since winter special lectures are conducted as an extension of regular classes, from the students' perspective, it's not a choice but a necessity," adding, "Depending on the academy, they can endlessly open special lectures under various names such as problem-solving classes, review classes, special-purpose high school preparation classes, and competition preparation classes."

Senior researcher Shin So-young from the organization Education Concern Free Society explained, "Usually, regular class fees are shared between the academy and the instructor at a certain ratio, but for special lectures, most of the tuition goes to the instructor," adding, "Because of this, instructors are eager to promote special lectures and try to attract as many students as possible."

As students flock during the vacation period, there are cases where the study atmosphere deteriorates despite paying more academy fees. Park, who has a daughter about to enter middle school (Suji, Gyeonggi), said, "Without notifying parents, they extended the class time by 40 minutes a day and raised the academy fee by more than 100,000 won," adding, "I thought about taking a family trip during the vacation, but even if my child misses a few days, the academy fee is never reduced."

A parent of a prospective high school senior (Daechi-dong) said, "I lined up from early morning to apply for a famous academy instructor's special lecture, but they crammed over 200 students into one classroom," adding, "The space is cramped and ventilation is poor, so students sweat and feel suffocated in the middle of winter. I'm worried whether proper studying is even possible or if they can evacuate safely in an emergency."

An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "Academy classrooms in Seoul have regulations on appropriate size and capacity, and tuition fees (lesson fees) have upper limits set by each district office," adding, "If there are issues with excessive tuition fees or academy facility safety, complaints can be filed through each district office or the National Sinmungo, and immediate on-site inspections and measures will be taken."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.