Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/06/2009100600636.html

Stratospheric Cost of English-Language Kindergartens The monthly tuition fee for English-language kindergartens is an average of W720,000, triple the cost of ordinary Korean-speaking preschools (US$1=W1,174).

Kindergartens where native English speakers teach the language to preschoolers are not officially authorized educational institutions under current law and are categorized as language institutes. English kindergartens began emerging four or five years ago in the affluent Gangnam area in southern Seoul.

According to a report submitted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to Grand National Party lawmaker Suh Sang-kee for a parliamentary audit, average monthly tuition is the highest in Seoul at W980,000. It is W650,000 in South Chungcheong Province, W600,000 in Busan and W560,000 in Gyeonggi Province.

There are 181 English kindergartens nationwide. Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province are home to 131 or 72 percent. Those in Seoul's Gangnam District are the most expensive, costing W1.24 million a month. Seocho District is second with W1.18 million, followed by Yongsan with W1.05 million, Jongro with W950,000, Daejeon�s Yuseong District with W890,000 and Euijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province with W880,000.

But Seocho District is home to the nation's single most expensive English kindergarten, which costs W1.64 million a month. Suh said tuition fees at English kindergartens are more than 13 times higher than those of public Korean-speaking kindergartens, proving the widening gap between haves and have-nots for the education of preschoolers.

[conrad2]

English kindergartens started over 10 years ago, not 4 or 5. There always seems to be this concern about an education gap in Korea between the rich and the poor. Guess what. Rich people get better stuff: houses, cars, toys. But unlike those things, just because you arent wealthy doesnt mean you cant get a good education. The public school teachers north of the river are just as good as the teachers in Kangnam.

[DorkothyParker]

I should be getting paid more!

While public school teachers might be amazing at their job, children who attend kindergartens can get up to 4 years headstart on their education compared to their less wealthy counterparts. This includes not just English, but math, science, art, music etc. All the kids at my school also take ballet and violin lessons. Can't beat the social aspects and the self-confidence instilled either.

Sadly, many of them read and write better in English than in Korean because their parents aren't around to teach them. :/

Ahh well. Interesting article.

[itaewonguy]

becuase the owners of those kindergartens are just more greedy!

I doubt very much the teacher at the 1.4 million a month school is paid more than the teacher at the 600.000 a month tuition school..
If the government doesn't like it they can always set prices for areas..
and while they are at it. They should always set rental prices for areas too. letting people charge what ever they want for their buildings is wrong. I really don't see why building owners should be getting filthy rich for doing nothing! there really needs to be a shift in this world..
there needs to be restrictions on prices..

[flakfizer]

I taught at an all English Kindergarten about 8 years ago in Apgujong. I heard the kids paid around 700,000 a month back then. Personally, I felt like it was worth it. We were with the kids non-stop from 10:00 to 3:00. We taught them, played with them, ate with them, etc. In only 3 months those kids were way ahead of their peers in English and had a much better chance of speaking without a bad accent. It's better to spend that kind of money for one year and give your kids a really strong base in a language, than spend 300,000 per month for several years to reach the same level. It's also a viable option to sending them overseas to live with uncle kim.

[Old Gil]

Kids can barely learn their native tongue at that stage, making kids do English kindergardents for that kind of tuition is a total waste of money. That being said, my dream is to open an ESL kindergarden in China. If they want to waste their money, I will take it and I'm sure the K-owmers think the same thing here.

[victorology]

[Old Gil]

[Senior]

[cdninkorea]

[crossmr]

[Jeonmunka]

There are restrictions on the fees, set by local councils - that is why Kyongi kindy fees are far less on average than Kangnam fees.

[wylies99]

[Old Gil]

[TheUrbanMyth]