Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bassexpander]

After reading a story where yet another Korean education official lambasted the hagwons, and with H1N1 taking its toll and adding to school closings, I began to notice something.... parents NEED hagwons for child care. The hagwons aren't the evil here, it's the amount of work parents must endure in order to keep the family afloat -- and what are they to do with the kids while the both work? They have to send the kids to grandma while they both work (if she's available) and/or send them to hagwons.

This past week, a few Korean coworkers were struggling and had to take time off because their children literally had nowhere to go but home. The schools they were attending were closing due to the flu. Suddenly, these working parents had nobody to watch the kids while they toiled away until as late as 10pm, in some cases. One of the coworkers had to call-in and miss work because of the problem, and she privately told me she now fears for her job because she had to do it.

Another problem: the birth rate.

As I sat and watched my pregnant wife take work home for the 3rd straight weekend, working so much on Saturday and Sunday that she barely had time to go out once for dinner, I began to wonder how the gov't expects people to have children? We're both working, and between the two of us, make somewhere around 7-8 million per month most months. We still feel poor, however, and we don't know how people can afford to have kids. If it were up to us, we would have rather waited 5 more years and saved more money, but we're too old and had to start now.

The problem isn't hagwons. If anything, the hagwons are helping Korea out by providing cheap child care because the Chaebols and every other company are working Koreans to death.

[Xuanzang]

Hagwons just become a problem when parents willingly pawn them off there for a daily or weekly Lotte shopping trip/ajummas day out. Or when it becomes a competition for parents to brag about little Min Su hagwons. Kind of like organized sports back home.

[nosmallplans]

My parents just left me at home... who needs daycare?

[big_fella1]

An interesting point.

In Australia parents pay up to $25 a day for after school care, with no teaching taking place. This is about w550,000 per month and we are generally home by 6pm.

As far as the cost of living here, I also hear you. Yes a single 23 year old can live on w1,000,000 per month but for those with a wife and a child on the way it isn't cheap. The cost of living here might be lower, but so are the salaries. My wife had to leave work early in the pregnancy and I am now doing extra company teaching at a rate that embarrasses me, just to bring enough money in.

I guess the problem of excessive demand also brings some scum into the Hagwon industry and thus gives the whole industry a bad name.

If the government removed the price controls on Hagwons, would parents start cutting back on overtime?

[nathanrutledge]

Life is what you make it. In Korea, rocking the boat is rare. Thus, the whole country is stuck in the rat race mentality. I'm sure we all knew people back in our home countries who were all about work and money and never had time to enjoy things, and then there were others who enjoyed life but never had two nickels to rub together.

I think that hagwons perpetuate the problem. If kids spend all that time studying at school and at academies, to becomes in grained in them that hard work is important and that play is not. The adage "work hard/play hard" is not as prevalent here, IMO (drinking aside). So yes, while it is good at keeping kids occupied, I think there are better things these kids could be doing with the majority of their time.

[Sector7G]

[eamo]

[Xuanzang]

[quote="eamo"]

[sigmundsmith]

Interesting point of view and one that I agree with in most parts.

Korea developed (industrially) very rapidly and in my opinion, have not adjusted well to such changes. That is, they have disregarded what is important within their lives (family) and focused on work being their lives. But that is my cultural way of thinking I suppose.

I hear from Koreans that their children are very important and they treat them accordingly. But family here quite visibly at least seems to take a back seat to work and income development.

Two things I have noticed about the Hagwon sector:

First, they are more of a babysitting service especially for elementary age students. How much does the average hagwon student learn in a month? Of course you have the exceptional students but in general not a great deal can be quantified to suggest that time spent there is worth the money paid out.

Second, the Hagwon industry is a billion plus industry for the Korean economy, employing many Koreans - teachers, administrators, recruiters, drivers just to name a few. The government would not like to see such an enormous source of tax revenue disappear from their books.

It is no wonder that the birthrate is around 1.2 (so I have heard) with the cost of living so high and the financial burden on a family to have children is so draining that this is occuring.

But in this present climate I believe that they are a necessary evil. Only the Korean mind set with alter the necessity of Hagwons. I don't see that happening too soon though.

[eamo]

I don't think anyone would disagree that the Korean education system has developed into something which doesn't really serve anyone well except the businessmen who can get rich off the competitive fervor.

Blame hagwons? Well, they never forced parents to sends their kids to multiple hagwons.......parents decided it was something they had to do to give their kids a chance at the 'good life'.

I've been thinking since I started working in a HS 3 years ago that the problem might be the perception by so many Koreans that getting into a famous university (meaning a SKY uni) can guarantee a good life. Whether it's true or not, this would seem to be what's driving the insane mania for education.

Sending little So-hee to a 1,000,000 won a month kindergarten when she's 5 is just the first part of a masterplan to get her into SNU or Korea U or Yonsei when she's 19.

If only there were more respected universities in Korea! The competition might ease off a bit and the hagwons would have less reason for existence.

BTW, it's the KSAT this Thursday.........

[pjmancktelow]

i'd like to add about the parents working late. from friends who work in the companie. many have said that for most of the day they are actually doing very little. and they actually wait until finish time to start work so they look like hardworking employees.

an expat friend who works for Hyundai reckons that the german engineers that he was in charge of do almost twice the work in an 8 hour day that the koreans do in a 12 hour day. he says the koreans are just so tired and strung out they cant do it.

i think the whole work ethich needs to be thought over in the 21st century. just my 2 cents

[Gnawbert]

I noticed this problem the first time I tried to send one of my students home sick 18 months ago and was told I couldn't because their parents both work. I've heard the same thing dozens of times since.

I still don't know if some sort of professional nanny service even exists here, outside of hagwons.

[bassexpander]

[Ukon]

yeah I figured the same thing...

Hagwons are just korea's version of daycare....except they have to learn something...

[DIsbell]

Not a bad thesis you've presented, but I think it's also worth considering how much the average korean household spends on education- something like 20% of their income. If they could just work 20% less... they might not need the daycare element of hagwons and could avoid paying out the rear for them.

but I do agree that hagwons are symptomatic of greater issues (although they do spawn some unique smaller issues of their own).