More than 83 percent of 5-year-olds and 36 percent of 2-year-olds in South Korea receive private education, a study revealed Monday.

According to the report published by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, a typical 5-year-old Korean kid receives private education 5.2 times a week for a duration of 50 minutes per session. For 2-year-olds, the average is 2.6 times a week and 47.6 minutes per session.

The findings are based on a survey conducted between August and October last year on 1,241 parents with children aged 2 or 5. There were 537 of them with 2-year-olds and the remaining 704 had 5-year-olds.

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Commentary by Jeonghwa Hong(Jeonghwa.hong@britishcouncil.or.kr)
This news is in line with the commentary of the market news posted on 3 January 2017. According to a recent survey by Statistics Korea, South Korean households’ private education expenditure is growing much faster than their disposable income amid low consumer spending. And the increase in private education expenses was six times higher than that of average disposable income in the same period. The average monthly spending on private education by city-dwelling families of two or more people stood at 226,575 won ($191) in the third quarter of last year, a 6 percent increase compared to 2015. This shows Korean parents' belief that their financial ability affects the education environment of their children. However, all this seems to be a concern from a wider perspective, as it poses a key challenge to the country’s efforts to revive the economy through domestic consumption.