Korean families' spending on private education for their children has jumped by more than 60 percent over the past decade, government data showed Sunday. According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) for the Ministry of Data and Statistics, Korean households spent just under 29.2 trillion won ($20.2 billion) on private education in 2024, up by 60.1 percent from 2014. This also marked a fourth consecutive year of increase in private education spending. While costs for sending students to hagwons, or private academic institutions, have been rising, families also have more money to spend on giving their children extra lessons outside their schools, contributing to the continued surge in private education spending, the ministry said. A steady increase in the number of dual-income households has also led to more expenditures on private education, the ministry added, since those parents often send their children to after-school hagwons during their working hours rather than leaving them at home alone. KOSIS numbers also showed spending on education for elementary school stude