Hak-Won… Extra Learning Opportunities or Depressant Factor?

South Korea is not only known for its amazing street food and music industry, but it is also known for the country to have high suicide rates and its private education industry. Not only is this industry ubiquitous, but it is also the source of extreme stress for students and parents. As a Korean myself, I decided to write about how this increasingly popular culture of private education has affected Korean students studying overseas.

In Korea and many other Asian countries such as China and Japan, places where students learn and review things learned in school are often referred to as “academies.” They attend these academies after school with proper teachers and classrooms. In Korean, these “academies” are called Hak-Won. Hak-Won’s are extremely stressful for students since they have to dedicate their free time after school in classrooms to studying—either previewing or reviewing school work. Many parents believe that this way, their children will be able to better understand concepts and receive high scores in mid-terms and final exams. Not only are there academic classes, but there are also classes that train and prepare people to become “K-pop stars,” models or actors.

At AISG, many Korean students return to Korea during the summer and/or winter vacations to preview IB courses in these Hak-wons. These classes are made solely for Korean students studying abroad. Among the most famous Hak-won companies are IB Lab and Satus. These classes function as “특강” (teuk-gang) or special lectures, which is another way of saying “hardcore” lectures, that take place every single day except for the weekends and last from 3 weeks to a month. The booking process for such classes is extremely competitive—booking usually start 3 to 4 months before vacation and a security deposit will be placed. Teachers of these courses are often graduates from the prestigious SKY Universities (Seoul National, Korea, Yonsei University) and have impressive resumés, which is why each lesson (or each subject) usually costs around 600 thousand Korean won (4,000 RMB). For example, a student may decide to take 3 subjects: IB Physics, IB Math and IB Chemistry. The total cost of taking these courses will amount to more than 10 thousand RMB — just for a single month of class. Additionally, students also attend classes in local Korean academies during the school year. These classes are generally cheaper—costing around 200 RMB per hour—as they only take place once to twice a week. Imagine having to pay for all of these private lessons in addition to the costly tuition of our school; doesn’t it put immense financial pressure on parents?

What do students think about these extra learning opportunities? To find out, I decided to interview several Korean and Non-Korean students.

Junior Daniel P. has been taking private math classes since 6th grade, and he strongly discourages others from doing so. He commented, “Since online resources and lectures are widely accessible in the world today, going to Hak-Wons should be a student’s last resort.” Additionally, he stated that although Hak-Wons can be helpful to those that are struggling in school, it could also cause them harm as these classes can “squander their time,” and stop them from attending various after-school activities and clubs. However, he admits that previewing courses often does help students understand school work easily.

Almost all Korean seniors take classes outside of school in Hak-wons. Vicky J, however, chose not to as she believes that “there is no need having to ask a schoolwork related question to a person that is not associated with the school in any way.” Instead, she goes up to her own teachers at school when she is struggling to do schoolwork. “I personally am not for the idea of paying extra money and spending more time to answer and review concepts in a separate place such as Hak-wons. It’s like going to school twice a day,” she says. I myself have also decided to stop attending all of my classes in academies out as I found them extremely exhausting for me, both mentally and physically. After dropping those classes, I now have more free time to focus on my schoolwork; I no longer have to stay up late at night, scrambling to finish homework.

Sophomore Rahul S. used to take classes to improve his performance in Chinese class. He has since then quit his classes because he “was busy with sports and extracurricular activities and did not want to waste more time studying outside of school.” He states that the classes gave him unwanted additional pressure to achieve higher grades. He claimed, “I feel like deciding to take classes or not really depends on each individual. For example, taking math classes helped my brother Sameer S. improve drastically, but for me, the classes seemed rather useless.”

What do you guys think about these out-of-school classes? Are they beneficial for your learning? Or are they simply a total waste of time? Comment below your thoughts on this matter!