In Daechi-dong, cramming begins at age 4

In one Seoul neighbourhood, academic cramming begins at age 4

Children who can barely hold a pencil compete to write essays to get into English kindergartens.

In Daechi-dong, cramming begins at age 4

South Koreans too young to hold a pencil compete to write essays to get into English kindergartens In a brightly lit classroom in Seoul’s Daechi-dong, 4-year-old Tommy (a pseudonym) grips his pencil, his little hands trembling slightly, with his feet dangling as they don’t yet touch the ground. His mother, along with others, waits anxiously outside as her child completes a test. The test sometimes requires them to read an English text and answer…