Despite the declining school-age population, South Korea's private education market continues to grow. 79% of elementary, middle, and high school students receive private education, and the average monthly per-capita spending on private education has increased by 45% compared to 2017. Seoul, in particular, has high private education expenses, with residents of the Daechi-dong area spending approximately 270 million won on private education over 12 years of schooling. Authors criticize this indiscriminate private education investment as "spine-breaking" and propose ways to improve educational efficiency.
