February 4th, 2026 - In South Korea, Parents Question the Price of Success and the Role of Cram Schools

For years, Lee Kyong Min’s life revolved around driving her two daughters from school to cram schools, following a routine that was typical for many parents in South Korea. The goal was always clear: ensure their children gained entrance to the country’s top universities, with the key to success being their choice of hagwons, or private cram schools. These institutions offer extracurricular classes in subjects like math, Korean, and English, helping students prepare for South Korea's famously competitive college entrance exam.

However, as Lee's daughters progressed in their studies, the toll of this academic pressure began to take a psychological toll. When her eldest daughter asked why they had to study so much, Lee realized that the focus on academic achievement had left her children—and herself—feeling unhappy. Lee, who had worked in advertising before becoming a mother, found herself questioning the purpose of the relentless grind. She had hoped that by pushing her children to succeed academically, she was securing their future, but the cost of that success seemed to be their well-being.

In South Korea, where 80% of students attend some form of private extracurricular education, the pressure is immense. Students, some as young as 4 years old, are taking entrance exams for prestigious preschools and hagwons. The pressure intensifies as they progress to higher grades, with many students spending over 40 hours a week in after-school classes. This has raised concerns about the mental health of children, as well as the broader societal impact of such an education system. Some experts believe that the focus on academic achievement is exacerbating issues like depression and anxiety among young students.

After witnessing the toll that the competitive system had taken on her daughters, Lee and her husband made the difficult decision to pull their children from their multiple hagwons and change their approach. Lee, who had recently become a psychologist, shifted her career focus to helping others, particularly mothers who are also caught in the academic pressure cooker. Many of her clients, like herself, feel anxiety over their children's academic performance, as they struggle to balance societal expectations with their own desires for their children's happiness.

As the education system in South Korea has become more competitive, it has also driven families to make drastic decisions to ensure their children succeed. For Lee, this meant sending her daughters to a private boarding school in the United States, a privilege few families can afford. Despite the sacrifice, she acknowledges that it was the only way to give her children a chance to thrive outside of the rigid, high-pressure system they grew up in.

Lee’s decision to send her children abroad reflects the deep dissatisfaction many parents in South Korea feel about the academic environment, but it also highlights the social and economic divides that shape the system. As Lee reflects on her daughters’ success in the U.S., she feels bittersweet about the reality that not all families have the same option to escape the pressures of the South Korean educational system.

Work of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Diaphanous (adj, dye-AF-uh-nus) - Diaphanous is a formal word used to describe fabric of a texture so fine that one can see through it. Diaphanous is also sometimes used figuratively to describe something characterized by extreme delicacy of form.

Example: The bride looked radiant in her floor-length gown and diaphanous veil.

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