The `Daechidong education city' phenomenon and associated hype (Eng/Kor)

Posted: 2002/03/02  By: batfink returns (Views:2400)

Having read some of the posts on this board I feel I must add my 2 cents worth regarding the
cons that Korean parents believe.

Seeing as how Korean parents are spending more on education than ever before we should really
take some time to examine how hype is wasting peoples precious time and money.

The concept of a school with a good reputation is really a joke in Korea. Parents are
gullible and will believe whatever marketing ploy is rammed down there throat via advertising
in newspapers.

Take Robert Hollys tapes and books- they arent very good and are really overpriced. But
people continue to buy it because it has his name on it. The same can be said for YBM schools-
sure we all know YB is a millionaire but that doesnt mean his classes should be so
expensive...after all, the teachers he employs have less teaching skill than a lot of the long
term cowboys teaching in Seoul.

The same can be said for SNUs new English Prof. SNU is widely regarded as the best School in
Korea  and yet it rates at 290 on a world educational ranking survey....so why do students want
to learn English at SNU so much? Well, the competition is fierce because of HYPE. SNU have even
gone to the lengths of paying the new English Dep Chair 90,000,000 per year for 8 hours a week
of teaching. I don't doubt that a Phd should be paid well but, he will just choose a textbook
like all other teachers and teach from it. Any B.A. holder with a years actual teaching
experience is better qualified than him I percieve.

My point is this- English communication is a skill- its not an expensive magic potion that is
easily taken and a student instantly masters English. That is a marketing con and no magic
hokwon/tape series/internet lesson/university can have you quickly speaking fluently.

There is one con man operating a million dollar hokwon in Seoul that has Koreans believing
the trick to learning English is that English requires the speaker to breathe out while Korean
speaking requires the speaker to breathe in. This guy holds breathing classes and his whole
expensive English program is based on this stupid breathing con.

I want to talk about the Daechidong Education city phenomenon which is a relatively new con.
I have heard Koreans discussing the amazing growth of hokwons in Daechidong lately. Apparently
the directors are getting very rich very quickly from creating an area where hokwons cluster.
This con has started backfiring of late because talkative parents have noticed no improvement
from their children who go to Daechidong to learn. In fact many parents have started pulling
their children out of Daechidong academies and sending them to hokwons nearby in Yeoksamdong
etc. It seems that just as Tehran street once was hyped for being a venture area the real merit
of a business is results....Tehran streets fame is waning due to failed ventures based on hype
and now Daechidongs fame as an education city is starting to rust also.

Koreans, when will you learn that hype is worthless.