"Thousands Booked, but Entrance Briefings Canceled One After Another Due to 'Novel Coronavirus' Concerns"

Megastudy and Jongno Academy Cancel Scheduled Event on February 1

On the 5th, examinees and parents attending the 'Jongno Academy, 2020 Regular Admission Strategy Briefing' held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul, are listening to an explanation about the regular admission strategy. Photo by Jang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), large cram schools' entrance exam briefing sessions scheduled for the weekend have been consecutively canceled.

According to the cram school industry on the 31st, Megastudy Academy, operated by Megastudy Education, abruptly canceled the retake strategy briefing session "Team Play Concert," which was scheduled to be held at 2 p.m. on February 1 in Gangnam, Seoul, a day before the event, to ensure the safety of attendees and prevent the spread of infection. Approximately 4,000 students and parents who had pre-registered to attend the briefing session will be notified of the cancellation via mobile text messages.

An academy official stated, "This was an event to disclose the process and results of Megastudy's remarkable academic improvement leading to college admissions success, and all preparations for the event had been completed internally," adding, "After multiple internal meetings, we decided to cancel the event based on the judgment that the safety and health of attendees are the top priority."

Megastudy plans to produce a video covering the main content of the briefing session lectures that cannot be conducted on-site and provide it through their website around next week.

Jongno Academy also canceled the retake briefing sessions scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Gangnam main branch and 2 p.m. at the Gangbuk main branch on the 1st, considering the emergency situation due to the increasing concerns over the novel coronavirus spread. Over 2,000 people had already made reservations for these sessions since last week.

Jongno Academy plans to arrange one-on-one individual consultations by phone with those who had originally intended to attend the briefing sessions.

An academy official said, "We decided this morning to cancel all Jongno Academy retake briefing sessions scheduled after February 1," and added, "The materials prepared for distribution at the briefing sessions will be provided through individual consultations and other means."

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