"Medical School Expansion" Sparks Nationwide Frenzy: "My Child Will Be a Doctor"... Elementary Medical Classes Fully Booked

"Attach 'Medical School' Title When Holding Explanatory Sessions or Opening Classes"
Increasing Demand for Medical School Entrance Explanatory Sessions Nationwide
Estimated Increase in Medical School Applicants to Around 20,000

"Medical school entrance briefing sessions have been exceptionally popular this year, with an overwhelming number of 'encore' requests."

A representative from an entrance exam academy in Haeundae-gu, Busan, said on the 23rd, "Medical schools have always been popular, but the briefing sessions have never been this packed. We are currently holding the sessions up to the third round." Recently, as the government's plan to expand medical school quotas has become more concrete, a medical school craze is sweeping among parents of elementary and middle school students nationwide.

In the academy district of Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the 'elementary medical school entrance class' craze is already intense. Although the government has not finalized the timing for expanding medical school quotas, it plans to first increase the quotas at existing universities with capacity for expansion in the 2025 academic year, and from the 2026 academic year entrance exams taken by current first-year high school students, newly established medical schools will be added, significantly increasing the number of medical school admissions.

A representative from an entrance exam academy in Daechi-dong explained, "Thanks to the optimistic expectations about the expansion of medical school quotas, the atmosphere in the Daechi-dong academy district has become more active," adding, "Even when opening a briefing session or preparatory class, they often attach the title 'medical school'." He further added, "The elementary medical school class selects students through exams, and to be accepted, students must have completed a curriculum equivalent to first or second-year high school level by the 5th or 6th grade of elementary school."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In fact, many entrance exam academies in the Daechi-dong area already advertise themselves as 'medical school' or 'elementary medical school' academies. Each academy is recruiting students for medical school entrance classes that teach advanced middle school mathematics to prospective middle school students and common high school mathematics.

According to the demand survey on medical school quota expansion announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 21st, 40 universities nationwide with medical schools hope to increase their admissions by up to 3,953 students for the 2030 academic year entrance exams. For the 2025 academic year entrance exams, which will be held next year, they hope to increase admissions by at least 2,151 and up to 2,847 students.

In response, Jongno Academy estimated that if the medical school admission quota increases by 4,000 students, the number of students preparing for medical school will rise to 22,175. As of the 2024 academic year, the number of medical school applicants nationwide is about 9,532. Lim Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, analyzed, "It is expected that the number of top-tier science and engineering university students retaking exams to enter medical school will increase, and the concentration on medical schools could become higher than it is now," adding, "Also, from the 2028 academic year when the humanities and sciences are integrated, the concentration in science and medical schools could become even greater."

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