Private Tutoring Pulls Half of Seoul Students Away from School; Education Office Urges Stricter Rules on Advanced Learning Ads

Following revelations that over half of Seoul's middle and high school students are unable to concentrate on school classes due to private tutoring, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is pushing for legal amendments to impose harsher penalties on private academy advertisements that encourage 'advanced learning' – studying ahead of the school curriculum. The education office has called for strengthened legal measures against advertising practices that fuel excessive competition for college entrance exams.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's 2026 survey, released on March 15, students find it difficult to focus on regular school classes due to excessive reliance on private tutoring and the effects of advanced learning, expressing difficulties within the public education system.

International examples show Germany operating a 'second educational pathway' system that allows adults to re-obtain secondary school diplomas or university entrance qualifications. The OECD describes this as 'multiple pathways.' Unlike the Gymnasium, a college-preparatory secondary school track, the Abitur, an exam for university admission, requires students to achieve a certain grade average at school to be eligible. France implements a 'recognition of prior learning system' that assesses vocational experience and grants degrees or national qualifications. Finland institutionally guarantees 'inter-pathway mobility,' allowing movement between general and vocational education.

To reduce reliance on private tutoring, institutional improvements that allow for pathways to continue even after failure have been discussed. The education sector has been debating the establishment of an educational system that does not treat failure as an endpoint.

This article was generated by AI and has been reviewed by a human.