[News Today] HEATED PRIVATE EDUCATION FOR INFANTS

[LEAD]
Private education starts younger and younger, leading parents to enroll even toddlers in English academies. This trend is intensifying concerns as soaring tutoring costs make raising children increasingly daunting.

[REPORT]
An English academy in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District opens it doors.

Toddlers are seen arriving with their parents.

"Have a good day. "

To get into English kindergartens, some children start attending preschool classes at English academies around their first birthday.

The monthly tuition is 1.9 million won, or some 1,300 U.S. dollars, excluding textbook fees.

Attending an English kindergarten and academy can cost over 110 million won, or over 75,400 dollars, over five years even before entering elementary school.

Nam Ki-jeong/ Head, English academy in Daechi-dong
Less than 10% of the kids can actually keep up. The rest are just filling seats.

In this area, where even so-called "elementary pre-med classes" exist, it's an unwritten rule that to excel in advanced math in elementary school, children must start learning English from infancy.

As private education starts earlier, the financial burden has also increased.

Parent/ (VOICE MODIFIED)
I'm saving up to set aside a cash for my child’s academy fees in high school.

A study shows that when private education expenses jump one percent, the birthrate drops by up to 0.26 percent.

Private education expenses have greater negative impacts on parents with multiple children.

Parent/ (VOICE MODIFIED)
If I had two children, I could not afford this.

The government is aware of the growing private education market for young children, but it has no related statistics.

Prof. Yang Jeong-ho/ Sungkyunkwan Univ.
The early childhood private education market is estimated at KRW 3tn to 6tn, with many children likely to continue private education through high school.

Experts warn that excessive early childhood private education contributes to low birth rates, stressing the need to gauge the reality and devise measures to ease parents' anxieties.