School trip costs have doubled from pre-COVID-19 levels amid high inflation, adding to the financial burden on parents.
According to education sector sources on Thursday, domestic school trip expenses that ranged from 300,000 to 400,000 won per student in 2018-2019 before COVID-19 now frequently exceed 600,000 won ($440).
Some high schools in Daejeon saw their Jeju Island school trip costs, which were in the low 300,000 won range per student in 2019, finalized at 590,000 won after trips resumed. Another school's three-night, four-day trip jumped from 420,000 won to 660,000 won. The school's total trip budget reached 143 million won, an increase of 49.7 million won (53%) despite a slight decrease in student numbers.
A post titled "My son said he won't go after seeing the school trip costs" recently appeared on an online community.
According to the parent notification letter shared in the post, the middle school planned a two-night, three-day trip to the Gangwon Province area next month. The estimated cost per student totaled 606,000 won, including 121,000 won for a chartered bus, 150,000 won for accommodation, 97,000 won for five meals, and 109,000 won for admission fees. Parent A said, "At first he said he'd go, but after seeing the cost, it was absurd. Is that really what accommodation, meals, and the chartered bus cost?"
Overseas school trip costs are also surging. Some private high schools in Seoul set the price for a three-night, four-day trip to Japan at 1.615 million won per student. Some specialized and autonomous private high schools have charged as much as 5.8 million won per student for trips to the United States or Europe. This is up to 29 times the average for general high schools (200,000-400,000 won).
The main drivers behind soaring school trip costs are rising ancillary expenses including transportation, accommodation, and airfare. Charter bus rental fees for Jeju Island school trips were in the 400,000 won range per day when trips resumed in 2023, but have recently risen to around 900,000 won per bus per day.
Accommodation standards have also changed. In the past, 7 to 10 students shared a room in condo-style lodging, but since safety standards were strengthened following the Sewol ferry disaster, two students per room at tourist hotels has become the norm. The mandatory employment of safety personnel under provincial education office guidelines has also pushed up labor costs.
Support has actually decreased. The Jeju Provincial Office of Education lowered its basic subsidy for school trip expenses from 400,000 won per student last year to 370,000 won this year. Additional support for families with multiple children was also reduced from full coverage to a 100,000 won cap.
Currently, 12 of the nation's 17 metropolitan and provincial education offices provide partial subsidies for school trip expenses, but in most cases the support amounts to less than half of actual costs. As a result, some high schools in Jeju have decided to shorten their three-night, four-day itineraries to two nights and three days.
