Five-year-old children attend an English class funded by Seocho District at Donghwa Kindergarten in Seocho District, Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Last week, Byun Jae-i, a 5-year-old at Donghwa Kindergarten in southern Seoul's Seocho District, learned that kangaroos come from Australia and pandas from China. The twist is she learned it all in English, a language she is still picking up.

“I had learned English at a private institute before, so learning it here became easier,” she told The Korea Times. “Last time at kindergarten, I did an art activity where I made a tiny palm-sized bed and that was the most fun.”

The weekly classes, funded by Seocho District, are part of a broader push by some Seoul districts to give young children a friendlier first brush with English, amid a government crackdown on so-called "English kindergartens."

In Korea, English kindergartens refer to private academies that teach children mostly in English from around age 3 until they begin elementary school. Monthly tuition at English kindergartens averaged 1.54 million won ($1,042) in 2024 — roughly 3.5 times the average monthly private education spending of 435,000 won per 5-year-old — according to the Ministry of Education.

Criticized for fueling the private education frenzy, English kindergartens have prompted authorities to act. Last year, lawmakers introduced a bill banning English cram school programs for children under 36 months. This month, the Ministry of Education said it plans to cap rote instruction at three hours a day for children aged 3 to 6.

With English absent from the national curriculum until third grade in elementary school, parental anxiety over the gap has pushed some Seoul districts to start programs like the one Byun attends.

Launched in March, the program is free and enrolls about 600 5-year-olds from 20 public and private kindergartens across Seocho District. Its goal is to give children play-based English exposure.

“Kids from English kindergartens and those who didn't attend often show a real gap when they enter elementary school. We wanted to narrow that, and many parents were asking for it,” said Kim In-ha of the district's educational support division.

For parents, the results have been encouraging. Lee Eon-ju, 42, whose younger daughter is enrolled, said the difference has been noticeable.

Source: Korea Times News