South Korea's outdated half-day schools strain parents and teachers alike
South Korea’s elementary schools still follow a half-day system, despite spending far more on education than most developed nations. Over 90% of students now rely on private tutoring after classes, as public schooling remains limited to just 655 hours a year—well below the OECD average. With falling birth rates and shifting family structures, the country’s education model is facing growing pressure to adapt. The half-day system dates back to the introduction of compulsory elementary education in Korea. Designed as a low-cost, high-efficiency model, it kept public schooling hours to a minimum. This approach worked when most households had one parent at home, but by the 2000s, dual-income families became the norm. Parents increasingly expected schools to provide more supervision and learning time, yet the system stayed unchanged.
Today, Korea remains the only advanced economy where elementary schools operate on half-day schedules. The country’s 655 annual instructional hours fall 150 hours short of the OECD average of 805. Meanwhile, nations like Germany and Denmark have expanded school hours and broadened their curricula in recent years. The strain on the system is growing. This year, the number of first graders dropped below 300,000, accelerating a long-term decline. By 2030, around 60,000 surplus teachers are projected to emerge as student numbers shrink. Critics argue the current model wastes resources while failing to meet modern needs. President Lee Jae Myung recently criticised teachers for avoiding field trips, claiming they were denying students valuable learning experiences to dodge responsibility for accidents. Chang Yoon-sook, former secretary general of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, has also highlighted the mismatch between Korea’s high education spending and its outdated school structure.
With fewer students and rising demands, Korea’s half-day elementary system is under scrutiny. The reliance on private education continues to grow, even as public spending outpaces most OECD nations. Without reform, the gap between school hours and parental expectations is likely to widen further.
