Not long ago, I had a phone call with a parent living in Vietnam.
We talked for about 30 minutes... and after hanging up, I just sat there in a daze for a while. It didn't feel like someone else's story.
"Last winter, I enrolled my child in a local academy's winter intensive program. The SAT intensive course. 2,500,000 won."
2,500,000 won. That's not a small amount of money.
She said she barely managed to convince her husband. Telling him this winter break was really important.
"It's expensive, so it must be different," she thought as she paid...
After the intensive program ended, they took a practice exam and the score went up by 20 points.
Only 20 points.
"Well, at least it went up..." She tried to look on the bright side.
2,500,000 won for 20 points — maybe the next intensive program would bring even more improvement? She was hopeful.
But far from maintaining the score, two months into the new semester, it had fallen right back to where it started.
Because everything was crammed into such a short time, what seemed understood back then actually wasn't, she said.
She couldn't blame her child, either — it was the mom who had chosen the class.
"It felt like I'd just thrown 2,500,000 won into the ground.
But what hurt even more... was feeling sorry for my child.
I pushed them so hard because it was an expensive class..."
The Real Dilemma for Parents Living Abroad
Word travels fastest among moms.
They've covered every piece of information about top academies in Korea. Including the number-one instructors with long waitlists in Apgujeong and Daechi-dong.
But the problem is... our child can't go there.
⚠First: Winter break is too short.
International schools abroad have winter breaks of three weeks at most.
Take a flight to Korea, adjust to the time difference, register at an academy...
By the time you've settled in, you have to turn around and come back.
"Let's try attending a hagwon in Korea this break!" — that kind of talk,
for those of us living abroad, is a pipe dream.
⚠Second: Korean real-time online classes? Hard to manage.
"Class is at 2 in the morning. My child falls asleep during it."
"They want to ask questions, but can't because other students are there."
This is the limitation of real-time online classes.
You just listen, and that's it.
They charge nearly the same as in-person classes, but the results are less than half.
⚠Third: Local academies? Expensive but the quality is...
There aren't many options locally.
So it's expensive.
Private tutoring starts at 100,000 won per hour at minimum,
and a winter intensive package easily exceeds 2,500,000 won.
Does the quality match the price?
Finding an instructor locally who can truly teach SAT or IB properly is really difficult.
Most are at the level of "I've taught it before" — nothing more.
Wondering whether you're satisfied or not is a luxury you can't afford.
It's not good because it's expensive — you take it because it's the only option, even at that price.
"Is there really no other way?"🥺
So I found it. A-CLASS.
"SAT, AP, IB through online lecture courses?"
At first, I hesitated too — worried that trying to save money might mean missing out on this crucial time.
Sitting alone in front of a computer, falling asleep, no one to ask questions...
What if it ends up being the same as any other online class?
But then 'A-CLASS' came along and completely changed my mind.
Honestly, at first I thought, "Is this for real?"
Here's what's different:
1. Korea's top-ranked instructors with the most proven results teach directly
2. Curriculum reflecting the latest trends
3. Unlimited access for 300 days of course access (typical online courses are only 3 months!)
4. Real-time LIVE Q&A (You will absolutely never move on without understanding something!)
I verified it right away. Because this is the most important part.
