[Education in Korea Loses Its Way]②"Kindergarteners Ask, 'Can I Really Play?'"

Testimonies from Kindergarten Teachers in Songdo, Incheon
"Our Children Are Hurting"
"There Are No Smiles on the Children's Faces"

The "age 7 entrance exam" trend is spreading to various places. In Incheon, which the reporter visited, private education for young children is thriving, especially in new towns such as Songdo and Lu1 City, and it is even drawing in children from older districts like Bupyeong and Gyeyang. The reporter spoke with four teachers working at kindergartens in Incheon: Lee Sujin (28 years of experience, Lu1 City), Kim Sunhee (25 years, Songdo), Lee Hyejeong (6 years, Gyeyang-gu), and Park Eunjeong (25 years, Bupyeong-gu), to hear about the situation on the ground.

Lee Sujin, who teaches five-year-old children in Lu1 City, said, "The first thing children who used to attend English kindergartens ask when they come to public kindergarten is, 'Can I really play?'" She added, "There are countless times when I feel sorry because it seems the children have forgotten how to play due to being overwhelmed by studying." Lee said, "Kindergarten ends at 4 p.m., but almost no children go straight home," and explained, "A three-year-old boy starts Taekwondo, at age four he starts English, and at age five, workbooks are added."

On the 23rd, children who finished English kindergarten are leaving school in the academy district of Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Lee Hyejeong, a teacher in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, said, "Parents who come to kindergarten information sessions first check whether there is an English program," and added, "Some private kindergartens offer English classes in the morning even though they are not English kindergartens." According to the 2022 national curriculum guidelines, English is included as a regular subject starting from the third grade of elementary school. While kindergartens can organize English programs as special afternoon activities, they are not allowed to hold such classes during the regular morning curriculum hours.

"English kindergartens" do not follow this guideline, which is why they are classified as "academies" rather than kindergartens. Nevertheless, private kindergartens are violating government guidelines by scheduling morning English classes. This is reportedly because parents demand it. If there are no English classes, parents say they will not send their children to the kindergarten. Private kindergartens that offer morning English instruction often teach science, Chinese characters, coding, and even horseback riding as afternoon "special activity" programs.

Public kindergartens, which follow the government's curriculum guidelines, are being neglected amid the competition between English kindergartens and private kindergartens. Lee Hyejeong said, "Among about 20 classes at public kindergartens in Gyeyang-gu, none have filled their enrollment quotas." She pointed out that public education is collapsing, starting from kindergarten. Kim Sunhee, a kindergarten teacher in Songdo, said, "Every year, I see at least one case of a child returning from an English kindergarten to a public kindergarten," and added, "There is no smile on the children's faces." She explained that many children suffer from "social maladjustment" and experience distress starting from kindergarten.

Kim Sunhee holds a session every Monday where children talk about or draw what they did over the weekend. However, she noticed something unusual among some children who came from English kindergartens. Some children were afraid to even hold colored pencils. When asked why, one child replied, "I'm afraid of making a mistake." Kim said, "Because children are accustomed to being 'evaluated' on everything, from drawing to all activities, it seems they perceive everything they do as a competition." She later learned that the child was made to study separately at the English kindergarten because their learning progress was considered slow. Park Eunjeong, a teacher in Bupyeong, had a similar experience. She noticed a child using words that suggested they had experienced corporal punishment. Park said, "I didn't press to find out if it really happened, but at first, the child could not adapt to playing freely and autonomously."

It is not unusual in Incheon to see kindergarten children shuttling between academies and only heading home at 7 or 9 p.m. Lee Sujin said, "From a teacher's perspective, the children I worry about most are those who silently endure whatever their mothers tell them to do and never show signs of struggle." She added, "Even if they pass the age 5 or age 7 entrance exams and get into good universities, the deficiencies from childhood will show up one way or another." Lee also said, "Even now, some children who attend many academies show signs of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), but it is not easy to talk to parents about it." Park Eunjeong added, "Children who attend five or six academies often do not respond when called and are frequently irritable."

On the 23rd, a banner recruiting kindergarten and elementary students is hung on the exterior wall of an English academy located in the Hagwon district of Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service received by Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sunmi, the number of health insurance claims for depression and anxiety disorders among children under the age of nine living in Seoul's three Gangnam districts increased from 1,037 in 2020 to 3,309 in 2024. This issue is not limited to the three Gangnam districts, where English kindergartens are concentrated; nationwide, the number of such claims doubled from 15,407 in 2020 to 32,601 in 2024.

The suffering experienced during kindergarten years continues into adolescence. According to a survey conducted last year by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 15.0% of adolescents who had considered or attempted suicide cited academic problems as the reason. This is more than three times the 4.7% recorded in the first survey in 2021.

Park Eunjeong said, "At an age when children should be learning to put on their own shoes and use the bathroom by themselves, they are attending five or six academies a day, so they don't even know how to play." Kim Sunhee said, "Kindergarten children should be guaranteed at least two hours of free play time each day." What our children need most right now is not advanced study, but play.