Really? Are you being facetious here? Just in case you aren't...
Hagwons price gouge people and provide an unfair advantage to the wealthy. Not to mention the fact that its psychologically, emotionally, and physically exhausting for mere children and adolescents to study all day in school followed by as much as 6 hours of study afterwards in a hagwon, followed by homework and a super late bed time. They get caught in a cycle of sleep deprivation, poor nutrition by not being home for dinner, and stress from too many assignments, tests, and presentations at one time. Plus, most of the "learning" in hagwons is rote memorization and test taking tricks, if even that much. If a kid doesn't progress, they often get pushed up anyway at the paying parent's request, regardless of ability.
Of course the hagwon system is not the only thing that needs to change. They also need to reduce the number of standardized exams and kind of exams given as well. Don't get me wrong, I believe students should have to study a lot and study hard. I also believe in testing or evaluation of some sort. However, the current way things are is unhealthy and unproductive. There are tons of high-quality teachers in public school here, but how can they teach a bunch of students who sleep during class because they're exhausted from late nights at hagwons? This odd reversal just keeps feeding the illusion that public schools here aren't capable of providing a decent level of education. That may have been true in the past, but I think it's time parents gave public schools another shot.
