Depression, anxiety disorders, etc., have been found to be particularly severe among children under nine living in Seoul’s Gangnam Districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa). The root cause is attributed to early education. Children who should be developing emotionally and physically are being pushed into private academies, causing stress that leads to these issues.
According to data received by Jin Sun-mi, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA), the number of health insurance claims related to depression and anxiety disorders for children under nine in the Gangnam Districts has more than tripled in the past five years. In 2020, there were 1,037 claims, which sharply increased to 3,309 claims in 2024, totaling 10,943 claims over five years.
Last year, the average number of claims per district in Gangnam 3-gu was 1,103, which is 3.8 times the average of 291 claims across the 25 districts in Seoul. Educational experts express concern over the growing debate around early education, such as the “4-year-old exam” and “7-year-old exam,” indicating that the stress from early learning negatively impacts children’s mental health.
Additionally, among the English daycare centers for children in Seoul, one in four is located in Gangnam 3-gu. Gangnam 3-gu houses 59 English daycare centers (25 in Gangnam-gu, 21 in Songpa-gu, and 13 in Seocho-gu), which make up 25% of the total.
Jin emphasized that young children are suffering from excessive educational burdens and competition stress during their critical developmental stages, calling on the Ministry of Education to conduct a comprehensive survey on early childhood private education and develop holistic measures.
Meanwhile, it was found that raising two elementary school children in Seoul requires approximately 1.2 million won monthly for private education. Compared to other regions, Seoul’s elementary school private education expenses are significantly higher. In Daegu, known for its competitive educational environment, the cost is around 458,000 won, with Gyeonggi, Busan, Sejong, Incheon, and Daejeon spending about three-quarters of Seoul’s expenditure.
In particular, Jeonnam and Jeonbuk’s elementary school private education expenses are only half of Seoul’s. Gangnam in Seoul is renowned for its high population density and intense educational fervor, naturally leading to fierce competition. The area’s well-established infrastructure, including various tutoring academies, ensures high accessibility to private education. Parents in Gangnam also generally have higher financial resources to invest in their children’s education.
The more severe issue is that as students progress through grades, the private education expenses increase. According to related statistics, an average of 691,000 won per month is spent on private education for one middle school student, and 769,000 won for a high school student in Seoul.