South Korea's private education spending declined for the first time last year after four consecutive years of increases since 2021. However, per-student spending among those receiving private tutoring rose to a record high, exceeding 600,000 won per month for the first time.
According to the "2025 Elementary, Middle, and High School Private Education Spending Survey" released by the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea on Monday, total private education spending reached 27.5 trillion won last year, down 1.7 trillion won (5.7%) from 29.2 trillion won the previous year. During the same period, total student enrollment fell 2.3% from 5.13 million to 5.02 million.
By school level, elementary schools saw the largest decline. Elementary school private education spending dropped 7.9% to 12.2 trillion won. Middle school spending fell 3.2% to 7.6 trillion won, while high school spending decreased 4.3% to 7.8 trillion won.
Private tutoring participation also declined. The participation rate fell 4.3 percentage points from 80.0% in 2024 to 75.7% last year. By school level, participation rates were 84.4% for elementary, 73.0% for middle, and 63.0% for high school students. Weekly private tutoring hours also decreased by 0.4 hours to an average of 7.1 hours.
However, the burden on students who continue using private education has increased. Monthly per-student spending among participants rose 2.0% to 604,000 won, marking the first time the figure exceeded 600,000 won. In contrast, monthly spending per student across all students fell 3.5% to 458,000 won.
By subject, spending was concentrated on English and mathematics. Monthly per-student spending across all students was 131,000 won for English, 128,000 won for mathematics, 39,000 won for Korean language, and 19,000 won for social studies and science.
Income disparities were also evident. Students from households earning 8 million won or more per month spent an average of 662,000 won monthly on private education—more than three times the 192,000 won spent by households earning less than 3 million won. By region, Seoul recorded 663,000 won, significantly exceeding the national average of 458,000 won.
The Ministry of Education stated that the decline in private education spending cannot be attributed to a single factor. "Private education spending is not an indicator driven by one factor," Lee Yun-hong, Director General of the AI Talent Support Bureau at the Ministry of Education, said at a briefing held at the Sejong Government Complex. "Along with declining student numbers, the expansion of public services such as elementary care programs, Neulbom School, and after-school programs appears to have contributed to some extent."
Public education program participation was relatively high at the elementary level. The after-school program participation rate was 36.7% among all students, with elementary schools exceeding half at 52.2%—a slight increase from 50.9% the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education plans to announce separate measures to ease the burden of private education costs later this month.