"Only 2 Million Suneung Test Takers... Opportunities Will Open in Vietnam"

Interview with Kim Hee-seon, CEO of Digital Daesung

As a Forward Base for Overseas Market Expansion
Establishing an International School with Chadwick in Hanoi Ecopark New City

"Top-tier Economic Growth Speed
Education Enthusiasm Comparable to Korea
The Market Will Grow Significantly"

Record High Performance as of Q3
Plans to Edutech-ify Core Business

Heeseon Kim, CEO of Digital Daesung

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "While the number of test-takers for the College Scholastic Ability Test in South Korea is 500,000 annually, Vietnam has as many as 2 million. With our experience and know-how, there will be ample opportunities in Vietnam."

Kim Hee-seon, CEO of Digital Daesung, whom we met at the headquarters in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, said, "Vietnam's economic growth rate is among the top globally, and its passion for education is comparable to Korea's, so the education market is expected to grow significantly." Digital Daesung, which operates the famous Daesung Academy for retaking college entrance exams, is jointly establishing a 50,000㎡ international school in the Ecopark New City of Hanoi, Vietnam, together with the prestigious American private school Chadwick. The school is scheduled to open in August next year. The Hanoi International School, with an enrollment capacity of 1,500 students, will serve as a forward base for Digital Daesung's overseas market expansion.

One of the success factors for an international school is how many foreigners it can attract. Kim initially aimed to enter the Chinese market but shifted focus to Vietnam for this reason. Currently, about 100,000 Korean expatriates reside in Hanoi. In Beijing, China, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 150,000 Korean expatriates, but now the number has sharply dropped to 13,000. Kim said, "Around the international school, Korean companies like Samsung Electronics are concentrated, and there are many economically affluent Vietnamese citizens. If excellent Korean students enroll, naturally outstanding Vietnamese students will also be attracted, enhancing the school's reputation."

In the US, China, and Korea, it is quite difficult for companies to pursue education as a for-profit business. However, Vietnam addresses this through the private sector because, despite high educational enthusiasm, government budgets for education are limited. Kim emphasized, "We plan to successfully operate the international school in Hanoi first and then consider additional establishments in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. It could be a good alternative for children of our expatriates who want to enter Korean universities with education received in Vietnam."

Digital Daesung achieved an operating profit of 30.1 billion KRW on a consolidated basis for the first three quarters of this year, a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the highest cumulative performance to date for the first three quarters. Sales rose 9.2% to 164.3 billion KRW. CEO Kim said, "We reduced marketing expenses compared to last year, and both online and offline performances were excellent. This year, we built a cafeteria on the top floor of the company, which has greatly improved communication and unity, creating a very good company atmosphere," he said with a smile.

Digital Daesung, which has shown strengths in the existing entrance exam and retake sectors, plans to integrate its core businesses such as the reading discussion and essay program 'Hanuri' and the Korean language mock test 'Igam' with edutech alongside its overseas business. As part of this, it launched the reading platform 'Jelly Page' in February. CEO Kim plans to grow Jelly Page into a family reading platform with a total of 200,000 members, combining Hanuri's 120,000 child members and the derived parent members.

Kim said, "Other reading platforms mainly target adults, but Jelly Page focuses on children as the main users and parents helping their children read. We aim to develop it into a reading platform that parents and children watch together, like Netflix."