'7-Year-Old Exam' for Prestigious Academy Admission
Ultimately Petitioned to Human Rights Commission as 'Child Abuse'
"Serious Criminal Act... Strong Sanctions Needed"
On the 20th of last month, students who finished their school classes are moving in the academy district of Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung
As the so-called '7-year-old exam'?a test taken to enter prestigious academies?becomes widespread, the early childhood private education market in South Korea is showing signs of overheating. Amid this, a petition has been submitted to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) demanding that the 7-year-old exam be classified as serious 'child abuse.'
On the 16th, the 'National Accusation Group Against Child Abuse 7-Year-Old Exam,' composed of 1,000 citizens, held a press conference in front of the NHRCK office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, calling for the abolition of the 7-year-old exam and urging the education authorities to impose strong sanctions and conduct a comprehensive investigation into early childhood private education.
The group stated, "Under the pretext of an exam for admission to English academies, six-year-old children memorize English sentences and prepare for interviews," adding, "The anxiety spread by the 7-year-old exam knows no regional boundaries. Parents, fearing their children will fall behind, rush to choose private education, ultimately dragging early childhood education into a competition of advanced learning." They further urged, "The NHRCK should define the 7-year-old exam as a crime more serious than child abuse and take measures to ensure that education authorities impose strong sanctions."
Recently, the term '7-year-old exam' has become popular in academy districts. It refers to tests taken by preschool children to enter prestigious academies. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education from July to September last year targeting 13,241 parents of children under six years old, the overall participation rate in private education was 47.6%, meaning one in two young children was receiving private education. The total private education expenditure amounted to 815.4 billion KRW, with an average monthly private education cost of 332,000 KRW. Among five-year-olds, eight out of ten were receiving private education, with an average monthly cost of 435,000 KRW.
Foreign media have analyzed that South Korea's excessive early education market has also impacted the country's birth rate, which is among the lowest in the world. The British daily Financial Times (FT) reported on the 16th of last month (local time), "Academic competition in South Korea is pushing half of children under six into entrance exam academies," adding, "Korean parents are dissatisfied with the burden of private education but simultaneously choose it out of fear that their children will fall behind."
FT noted, "Excessive private education spending in South Korea is also affecting the country's serious low birth rate problem," explaining, "Korean parents rely on these academies to help their children get ahead in the intense competition for admission to top universities and a few high-paying jobs at major corporations." The British BBC also reported, "In South Korea, children participate in various expensive extracurricular activities such as math, English, music, and Taekwondo from the age of four," and added, "The excessive education system centered around the metropolitan area appears to be influencing the low birth rate." Foreign scholars were also astonished by South Korea's early childhood private education market. Professor Emerita Joanne Williams of the University of California, in an interview with EBS, said after hearing that South Korea's total fertility rate was 0.78 in 2022, "Wow! South Korea is completely doomed," clutching her head in disbelief.
Comedian Lee Su-ji sparked a sensation by creating a character of a 'Daechi-dong mom' obsessed with her child's education. YouTube channel 'HotIssueJ'
The excessive enthusiasm for private education has even become a subject of satire. Recently, comedian Lee Su-ji created a character called 'Daechi-dong Mom,' a mother obsessed with her child's education, which sparked public attention. Portraying 'Jamie Mom,' a mother living in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul?an area known for its intense educational zeal?Lee Su-ji is busy shuttling her four-year-old child Jamie to academies and private lessons. She drives her child to academies, feeds them kimbap inside a foreign car, and interviews tutors for her child's jegichagi (Korean traditional game) lessons. She even sheds tears upon hearing that her child has succeeded in potty training while boasting about Jamie's giftedness. The character portrayed by Lee Su-ji resonated with the public and gained explosive popularity. Two 10-minute videos recorded 12.7 million views within a month.
Meanwhile, despite the decrease in the number of students due to low birth rates, private education expenses reached a record high again last year. According to the '2024 Survey on Private Education Expenses for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students' released by the Ministry of Education, total private education expenses last year amounted to 29.2 trillion KRW, an increase of 2.1 trillion KRW from 27.1 trillion KRW the previous year. This is the highest since the survey began in 2007. The proportion of students participating in private education also rose by 1.5 percentage points from the previous year to 80%, marking a record high. Despite the student population decreasing by 80,000 to 5.13 million last year, private education expenses set a new record. In particular, although the government implemented measures to reduce private education, such as excluding killer questions from the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and introducing the 'Neulbom School' for elementary students, it is analyzed that policies like increasing medical school admissions have instead overheated the private education market.
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