319호 [Feb.28 ,2011] | Nation
English Hagwon Craze Gets Crazier
Why are hagwons important? The English hagwon craze has reached a new level. Now, in some of the wealthier neighborhoods of Seoul city, students are not only pressured to attend these after-school private academies—they are competing to be accepted in the most prestigious of them. “If you think about it, it really doesn’t make any sense,” said Park Yoon-suk, whose 13-year-old son attends a prestigious hagwon in Daechi-dong. “But everyone is going through the same thing because we all believe it will be worth it in the end.” Daechi-dong is home to many of the capital city’s hagwons. There is even a street that is now known as “the first avenue for private education”. During school breaks, the area is especially crowded with parents, students, hagwon staff, buses and taxis. “It’s crazy at the end of the day,” said 24-year-old Park Min-jong, a staff member at a Daechi-dong hagwon. “There are so many people here that we need staff members to keep them from running into one another.” It’s not easy to get accepted into the best hagwons, though. Students must start by taking an admissions test, which is often very challenging. Some hagwons have long waiting lists for student applications. And many say that students who fail the admissions test must wait several months before reapplying. Tests can last from one to two hours and are often accompanied by an interview, as well. “A lot of the students have to take the test multiple times,” a clerk from one of the English hagwons said. In some cases, parents hire private tutors to help their children prepare for hagwon admission tests.