Would longer school days keep kids out of private academies? Korea weighs controversial fix

The National Education Commission is debating extending the school day for first- and second-graders, with supporters saying it could reduce reliance on hagwons and teachers warning it would only delay the after-school care gap. The first public debate on the proposal was held Thursday at the National Assembly Library with the National Assembly Futures Institute and the Korean Educational Development Institute. Researchers cited a large instructional-time gap with OECD averages, while union leaders called the plan a false fix and pushed for other reforms.

Korean elementary students receive 655 hours of instruction a year, about 190 hours less than the OECD average of 845 hours.

First- and second-graders receive 581 hours a year, which is 234 hours below the OECD average of 815 hours.

A National Data Agency survey found that 46 percent of dual-income households rely on hagwons and 55 percent rely on art or sports programs purely for childcare.

Mental health visits for children aged 5 to 9 rose from roughly 30,000 in the mid-2010s to about 58,000 in 2024.

Lee Hui-hyeon proposed adding 3.35 periods a week first, then 6.35 periods to reach the levels of fifth- and sixth-graders.

Published Sep 4, 2026 5:00 pm KST

Gov't hopes longer classes will reduce reliance on academies, but teachers say it merely delays the daily cycle

Second-grade students at Jungpyeong Elementary School in Nowon District, Seoul, leave school with bright smiles after a ceremony marking the start of summer vacation in July. Yonhap

The National Education Commission is debating extending the school day for first- and second-graders, sparking a clash between policymakers and educators.

Supporters argue that aligning instruction time with the OECD average will reduce parents' reliance on private tutoring centers, known as hagwons in Korean. However, teachers' groups warn that longer classes will merely delay the daily after-school hagwon cycle without solving the underlying gap in after-school care.

The commission, the National Assembly Futures Institute and the Korean Educational Development Institute held a joint policy forum on Thursday at the National Assembly Library. The event marked the commission's first public debate on lengthening the school day for young students.

Shorter school days strain working parents

Hwang In-hyeok and Seong Mun-ju, associate research fellows at the National Assembly Futures Institute, presented data showing a severe gap in instructional time. Korean elementary students receive 655 hours of instruction a year, falling about 22 percent, or 190 hours, short of the OECD average of 845 hours. This total is more than 100 hours less than in Japan and Germany, which mandate 768 and 774 hours respectively, the shortest among the Group of Seven nations.

The gap is widest for first- and second-graders. These students receive just 581 hours of instruction a year, which is 28.7 percent, or 234 hours, less than the OECD average of 815 hours.

Chart generated by artificial intelligence

This deficit creates a sudden lack of after-school childcare when children enter elementary school. While preschoolers often spend time in day care centers or kindergartens until 4 or 5 p.m., regular classes for early elementary students end around 1 p.m. Even with Neulbom School, a state-run childcare program, the day typically finishes by 3 p.m.

Hwang said that parents navigate this gap by either adjusting their work hours through parental leave or turning to private education.

Parental leave for mothers peaks at 83.8 percent during a child's first year, plunges to between 2.6 and 3.1 percent for ages 1 through 5, and spikes back to 12.5 percent when the child turns 6 and enters school. Parental leave for fathers remains flat at around 10 percent during the early years before surging to 18 percent at age 6.

This demand directly fuels private education. According to a National Data Agency survey, 46 percent of dual-income households rely on hagwons and 55 percent rely on art or sports programs purely for childcare. For single-income households, those figures drop to 11 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

Researchers also warned that this early academic pressure may be harming children's mental health. They cited data showing that mental health visits for children aged 5 to 9 surged from roughly 30,000 in the mid-2010s to about 58,000 in 2024.

National Education Commission Chairperson Cha Jeong-in delivers opening remarks during a policy forum on extending the school day and improving education for younger elementary students at the National Assembly Library in Seoul, Thursday. Newsis

Lee Hui-hyeon, head of the Student and Parent Research Office at the Korean Educational Development Institute, proposed a phased expansion of class time.

"While early childhood education integrates play and care throughout the day, elementary school abruptly fragments a child's day among school, after-school care, hagwons and home," she said. "The first stage would add 3.35 periods a week to match third- and fourth-grade levels, followed by a second stage adding 6.35 periods to reach fifth- and sixth-grade levels."

Longer school hours offer false fix for care gap, unions warn

Teachers' groups fiercely opposed the proposal. The Korean Federation of Teachers' Unions issued a statement condemning the plan as a "trick" to shift the burden of after-school care onto regular instruction. Meanwhile, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union held protests at the National Assembly's main gate.

Chae Yu-gyeong, head of the Gyeonggi Teachers' Union, stages a one-person protest in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, opposing the National Education Commission's plan to extend the school day for younger elementary students. Yonhap

Kim Seon, a teacher at Dunjeon Elementary School in Gyeonggi Province and vice president of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, questioned the pedagogical value of the extra hours.

"Frontline teachers report first-graders already struggle to sit through five periods a day," she said. "First-graders are still developing basic skills like maintaining concentration, regulating emotions, resolving peer conflicts and managing their belongings."

Kim urged policymakers to prioritize quality improvements over longer hours. She called for reducing class sizes, assigning co-teachers during the initial transition period, securing dedicated play spaces and improving the professional accountability of Neulbom School before demanding more time at a desk.

Park So-yeong, a teacher at Daejeon Baeul Elementary School and policy director of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Unions, argued the OECD comparison is structurally flawed. She pointed out that countries with shorter instruction hours, such as Finland and Sweden at 564 to 709 hours, are excluded from the elementary average because their 6-year-olds remain in preschool systems, thereby inflating the overall OECD figure.

Park warned that extending the school day offers a false solution for working families.

"Even if students are dismissed at 3 or 4 p.m., dual-income parents do not return home until 6 or 7 p.m., leaving a massive two- to three-hour gap in after-school care," she said. "The policy merely pushes the start of the daily after-school tutoring cycle from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国国家教育委员会正在讨论延长一、二年级学生的在校时间，支持者认为此举可以减少对课外辅导机构（hagwon）的依赖，而教师则警告说，这只会延缓课后托管服务的缺口。周四，韩国国会图书馆举行了关于该提案的首次公开辩论，韩国国会未来研究院和韩国教育开发研究院也参与了此次辩论。研究人员指出，韩国的教学时间与经合组织（OECD）的平均水平存在较大差距，而工会领导人则称该计划是权宜之计，并呼吁进行其他改革。

韩国小学生每年接受 655 小时的教学，比经合组织平均水平 845 小时少了约 190 小时。

一、二年级学生每年接受 581 小时的教育，比经合组织平均水平 815 小时少了 234 小时。

国家数据机构的一项调查发现，46%的双职工家庭依靠私立学校（hagwon）照顾孩子，55%的双职工家庭依靠艺术或体育项目来照顾孩子。

5 至 9 岁儿童的心理健康就诊次数从 2010 年代中期的约 30,000 次增加到 2024 年的约 58,000 次。

李慧贤提议先每周增加 3.35 节课，然后再增加 6.35 节课，以达到五六年级学生的水平。

发布于2026年9月4日下午5:00（韩国标准时间）

政府希望延长课时能减少对私立学校的依赖，但教师们表示，这只会推迟日常教学周期。

7月，首尔芦原区中平小学二年级的学生们在暑假开始仪式后笑容满面地离开学校。（韩联社）

国家教育委员会正在讨论延长一、二年级学生的在校时间，这引发了政策制定者和教育工作者之间的冲突。

支持者认为，将教学时间与经合组织平均水平接轨，可以减少家长对课外辅导中心（韩语称作“hagwon”）的依赖。然而，教师团体警告说，延长课时只会推迟每天放学后去hagwon的循环，而无法解决课后托管服务的根本缺口。

周四，委员会、国会未来研究院和韩国教育开发研究院在国会图书馆联合举办了一场政策论坛。此次活动标志着委员会首次就延长低年级学生在校时间问题公开展开讨论。

缩短上学时间给上班族父母带来压力

韩国国会未来研究所的副研究员黄仁赫和成文柱公布的数据显示，韩国小学教育时长存在严重不足。韩国小学生每年接受655小时的教学，比经合组织平均水平845小时少了约22%，即190小时。这一数字比日本和德国分别规定的768小时和774小时少了100多小时，是七国集团中小学教育时长最短的国家。

一、二年级学生的差距最大。这些学生每年仅接受 581 小时的教学，比经合组织平均水平 815 小时少了 28.7%，即 234 小时。

人工智能生成的图表

这种缺口导致孩子们进入小学后，课后托管服务突然短缺。学龄前儿童通常会在日托中心或幼儿园待到下午四五点，而小学低年级学生的常规课程大约下午一点就结束了。即使有州立托儿机构纽尔博姆学校（Neulbom School），一天的课程通常也到下午三点就结束了。

黄表示，家长们可以通过休育儿假调整工作时间或选择私立教育来弥补这一时间缺口。

母亲的育儿假在孩子出生第一年达到峰值83.8%，1至5岁时骤降至2.6%至3.1%之间，孩子6岁入学后又回升至12.5%。父亲的育儿假在孩子幼年时期保持在10%左右，6岁时则飙升至18%。

这种需求直接推动了私立教育的发展。根据国家数据机构的一项调查，46%的双职工家庭依靠课外辅导班（hagwon）来照看孩子，55%的家庭依靠艺术或体育项目来照看孩子。而对于单职工家庭来说，这两个数字分别下降到11%和19%。

研究人员还警告说，这种早期学业压力可能会损害儿童的心理健康。他们引用数据显示，5至9岁儿童的心理健康就诊次数从2010年代中期的约3万次激增至2024年的约5.8万次。

周四，韩国国家教育委员会委员长车正仁在首尔国会图书馆举行的延长小学低年级学生在校学习时间和改善小学教育政策论坛上致开幕词。

韩国教育发展研究院学生与家长研究办公室主任李慧贤提议分阶段延长课堂时间。

“虽然幼儿教育将游戏和照护融入到一天的生活中，但小学却突然将孩子的一天分割成碎片，分散在学校、课后托管班、补习班和家里，”她说。“第一阶段将每周增加3.35节课，以达到三四年级的水平；第二阶段将增加6.35节课，以达到五六年级的水平。”

工会警告：延长上课时间并不能解决托育缺口问题

教师团体强烈反对这项提议。韩国教师联合会发表声明，谴责该计划是“伎俩”，旨在将课后托管的责任转嫁到常规教学上。与此同时，韩国教师教育工作者联盟在国会大厦大门举行了抗议活动。

京畿道教师工会会长蔡裕京周四在首尔国会大厦前进行单人抗议，反对国家教育委员会延长小学生上课时间的计划。（韩联社）

京畿道敦田小学教师、韩国教师联合会副会长金善对加课时的教学价值提出了质疑。

她说：“一线教师反映，一年级学生每天要坐满五节课就已经很吃力了。一年级学生还在培养一些基本技能，比如集中注意力、调节情绪、解决同伴冲突和管理自己的物品。”

金敦促政策制定者优先考虑提高教学质量，而非延长课时。她呼吁在要求增加课时之前，应先缩小班级规模，在初期过渡阶段安排合作教师，确保专用游戏空间，并提高纽尔博姆学校的专业问责制。

大田北村小学教师、韩国教师联合会政策主任朴素英认为，经合组织（OECD）的比较方法存在结构性缺陷。她指出，芬兰和瑞典等教学时间较短的国家（平均教学时间为564至709小时）被排除在小学平均水平之外，因为这些国家的6岁儿童仍在学前教育体系中，从而拉高了经合组织的整体数据。

朴槿惠警告说，延长上学时间对工薪家庭来说是一个虚假的解决方案。

“即使学生下午三四点放学，双职工家庭的父母也要到晚上六七点才能回家，这导致课后托管服务出现两到三个小时的巨大空档，”她说道。“这项政策只不过是将每日课后辅导的开始时间从下午一点推迟到了四点。”

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。