A recent study revealed that the gap in English capacity between the affluent areas (Gangnam) and the poor areas in Seoul has widened.
The study showed 14 percent of students from Gangnam* (the wealthiest district in Seoul) accounted for 4 percent of the top scorers on the English test in the entrance exam conducted in 2008. Only 0.64 percent of students from Geumcheon (one of the poor districts) were included in the highest scorers' group.
In 1999 1.4 percent of students from Geumcheon were in the top scorers' group but the proportion halved in 2008.
* The Han River flows directly through Seoul, like Thames in London. Gangnam, literally means “South of the river”, and is well known as an affluent area compared to the north of the river in Seoul. Wealthy familes prefer to live in Southern Seoul for their childrens' education.