Exploring the Future of education: Fieldwork Insights on AI Education from the mecca of for-profit private educational institutions in S. Korea

In March, 2025, I embarked on a journey through South Korea to explore its AI education ecosystem. From classrooms to the hub of for-profit private education in the Daechi-dong hagwon district of Seoul, my aim was to observe how AI is being integrated into daily teaching and learning, as promoted by news outlets and educational institutions.

Background information:

Home to Samsung and a 99% literacy rate, South Korea is often known as a global leader in innovation. AI education is significant here (e.g., government initiatives like the 'AI Strategy 2030,' rising demand for AI skills). In a country known for its tech giants and lightning-fast internet, I set out to uncover how South Korea is shaping the next generation of AI innovators.

Fieldwork Locations for my research: Seoul's Daechi-dong hagwons, Public elementary school in a rural province in Korea, and Seoul's AI Expo and World IT Show.

• **Hagwon: "Hagwon" is a Korean term referring to private, after-school educational institutions. Students attend hagwons for lessons in subjects like English, math, science, art, Taekwondo, and to prepare for university entrance exams. This hagwon market (private education market) is said to reach "a record 29.2 trillion won ($20.07 billion) last year, up 7.7% from the previous year. By grade level, costs reached 13.2 trillion won for elementary schools, 7.8 trillion won for middle schools, and 8.1 trillion won for high schools."

My Fieldwork Entry

Date: Saturday, March 8th (with multiple follow-up visits throughout the first 3 weeks of March)

Time: 14:00 – 22:20 (Mar 8th, 2025)

Weather: Sunny, 8°C - 12°C

Location: From Daechi station to Hanti to Dogok station (See the map below)

Why is this area important side for understanding AI in education?

Daechidong Hagwon area is an important site of exploration to understand how AI is embraced in education in South Korea. As one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Korea, predominantly residential (consisting of high-rise condos and apartments), the real estate in the area is highly competitive precisely because of the private education the area provides. Many parents consider moving to this area because they want to provide the best education possible for their children.

Brief history of the Daechi-dong hagwon area

The changes in Daechidong began to take place in the 1970s when the nation began to go through an extensive modernization project. Once a rural village, Daechi-dong was no different from any other rural areas in Korea unil the mid-1970s. The area became incorporated into Seoul in 1963 from Gwangju-gun, Gyeongi-do province and began to change significantly in the late 1970s as large-scale apartments were built one after another.

Daechi-dong has become a common noun for a neighborhood in Gangnam-gu district (the same "Gangnam" from Psy's viral song, "Gangnam style") referring to the mecca of for-profit private education in Korea.

Photo 1. The famous Eunmah apartment 은마아파트 in Daechi-dong built in the 1970s, Symbol of Gangnam's first generation apartments when Gangnam development was in full swing.

• Purpose: Explore to what extent this mecca of private education is adopting AI and how they are embracing it in their teaching and learning.

• Activities: Observe the area signified in the map. Talked to students, parents and private institutions in the area. Collect flyers, advertisements from private institutions that are related to the AI in education. Go into those institutions and find out how they are embracing AI in their curriculum as advertised.

• Key Observations:

  • The day of Daechidong Hagwon area starts around 3-4pm when students finish their schools.

  • Like their morning shift is in schools, and then their afternoon/evening shift is in these private hagwons.

  • From 3-6pm, you see from younger to more senior junior high school students.

  • From 5pm onwards, you see mostly teenage students (both junior high & high school students) uniformly dressed in black jumpers and puffy winter jackets.

  • It is common for these students to go into convenience stores like GS25 or CU store around 5-7pm to have snacks or dinner in between in classes.

  • There are hundreds of restaurants, eateries, cafes around available in the area catered to these students. Most of these establishments are set up to accommodate individual students, allowing them to dine comfortably and then go about their next hagwon classes. Most restaurant seats are primarily for single persons to accommodate hundreds of students.

  • Every hour, two remarkable scenes unfold. First, hundreds of teenage students in black puffy jackets and school uniforms cross the intersection, resembling a swarm of ants in motion. Second, the roads become congested with traffic as mothers in their cars, attempting to pick up their children, stop on the roadside with their emergency lights flashing.

  • Because of this, there are even "AI-parking surveillance cameras" installed in these areas.

  • Many private educational institutions claim to incorporate AI into their teaching methods. For example, their flyers might feature phrases like "Math, AI, Science." However, how extensively do these institutions actually use AI in their teaching? Upon visiting one such institution, I found it to be a typical, older, for-profit hagwon with separate rooms and minimal digital infrastructure. The term "AI" appeared to be used in their marketing materials primarily as a buzzword. Given the current interest in AI, it's common for hagwons to leverage this trend in their advertising, appealing to parents who are drawn to the idea of AI-enhanced education.

  • In front of another private English kindergarten in the area, a poster stated that they offer an AI-powered curriculum and incorporate AI into their teaching. I went inside and spoke with someone at the information desk. The representative explained that they do not necessariy use "AI" in their teaching but they use AI to evaluate the children's level tests. I asked if there are any teachers who evaluate these children's tests. They said there are but once the children are admitted to their hagwon, the children undergo another level test, which is then evaluated by their internally developed AI system from the US for-profit private institution.

  • A blogger influencer on Naver, Korea's leading search engine, advertised another private English kindergarten (ranked in the top 3 in the area), stating that the hagwon uses AI in their teaching. Curious, I visited to find out how extensively AI is incorporated in their curriculum. The person at the information desk was unsure and called someone else. After about a 5-minute awkward wait, I asked the new individual my question. He informed me that a separate department (marketing) handles this and suggested I contact them. Ultimately, I found that these institutions do not practically use or adopt AI as advertised. They simply use the term as a popular keyword to attract parents.

  
  

  Reflections: AI isn’t just a subject here—it’s a marketing term and a mindset. It's a mindset fueled by intense competition, representing a collective Korean identity that no one wants to lag behind. -> I discuss this collective Korean identity more in detail in the journal article that was publisehd on the International Journal of Communication: The Datafied School in the Neoliberal Era: Pandemic Shifts in South Korean Education Policy.

Additional sites of exploration to come!

Seoul’s AI Expo 2025, Rural School Visit (Classroom observation), Discussions with teachers, parents, and policymakers on the AI-textbook.

References:

Jung, S. (2024). The Datafied School in the Neoliberal Era: Pandemic Shifts in South Korean Education Policy. International Journal Of Communication, 18, 20. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/21145/4677

Ministry of Science and ICT. Press Releaes: National AI Strategy Policy Directions. https://www.msit.go.kr/eng/bbs/view.do?sCode=eng&mId=4&mPid=2&pageIndex=&bbsSeqNo=42&nttSeqNo=1040&searchOpt=ALL&searchTxt=

Seoul history musem. Hanti town daechi dong. Seoul Book Room. https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000213912887

Pyo, T., & Lee, J. (2025 March). South Korea's private educaiton spending hits record 29 trillion won. The Chosun Daily.

https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2025/03/14/XDLZXJJEOZAHTJLWPBTA4UISZA/