Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sobriquet]

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but are they? My public school offers 'scholarships' to good students, which I always assumed were just euphemisms for bribes. But I heard recently (from another foreigner, though) that Koreans have to pay for public schools, which is part of the reason that the amount paid per student for an education is so high. (I had thought it was because of hagwons.)

(They have to pay for public schools in China, but it's usually disguised as 'book fees', 'teacher fees', 'uniform fees', etc.)

[Rteacher]

I worked at my technical high school about a year before I found out that it was actually not a public school per se. I was told by the head of the English department that about half the high schools in Korea are privately owned (but not-for-profit...) by wealthy individuals or corporations. They are regulated by the government education ministries though - especially with respect to foreign teachers ...

I've heard that the students don't have to pay very much though for regular classes, and some pay extra for evening classes...

[jvalmer]

I think almost all elementary schools are public now. As mentioned, half the middle and high schools are private in Korea. Some ten or so years ago, the government made education up to the end of middle school mandatory and claims, one day, to make high school education mandatory by law. But since like 99% of students finish high school anyways, it's not really a burning issue.

So, some private middle and high schools charge about 100,000won, or so, a semester per student for supplementary fees (from what I was told). All I know is that the amount is affordable for the vast majority of families. And if a family really can't afford the fee, usually the school somehow gets a "secret" donation or something to cover the student of that unfortunate family. Not everyone gets a scholarship, but alot do. I think the scholarships offered to graduating middle school students is often used to cover the various fees. Also, many students apply to high schools outside of their hometowns and may use it to cover dormatory fees.

However, the costs of some school uniforms can get quite expensive.