February 2, 2026
SEOUL – Bae Hyun-jin (not her real name), 46, is an activist who openly opposes South Korea’s private education culture.
Yet she carries a secret.
She currently spends about 2 million won ($1,380) a month on private tutoring for her high-school-aged son, hoping like most Korean parents that he can get into an elite university.
Her spending amounts to more than half of South Korea’s average monthly salary of 3.73 million won.
While publicly criticizing a society “sickened by private education,” Bae finds herself trapped in a dilemma: In a country where the university someone goes to still largely determines their life chances, she feels unable to withdraw her child from the academic rat race.
Recently, another layer of anxiety has been added.
Despite quietly investing in private education, Bae says she cannot ignore the steady stream of news warning that artificial intelligence will replace workers in white-collar jobs.
Her anxiety has grown, but she says there is little she can do. Cutting back on tutoring is not even under consideration.
“They say AI is reshaping hiring, but I honestly don’t know anything,” she said. “Even if AI replaces jobs in the future, I can’t tell my child to stop preparing for this and start preparing for something else instead.”
“With things like coding, where replacement is already visible, I can at least say, ‘That’s not the path,’” she said. “But for other professional fields, the changes aren’t yet tangible, so I don’t know what to do.”
One clear formula for success has long dominated in Korea: intense study for the largely multiple-choice college entrance exam, followed by entrance to a prestigious university. This then opens the door to a conglomerate job or becoming a member of a high-paying white-collar profession, such as a doctor, lawyer or accountant.
In some ways, parents say, it used to be simpler. You might end up paying millions of won on cram schools, but there was a reliable path to follow, and a clear target to aim for.
But as the AI era begins to take shape, albeit at an early stage, many parents and students find themselves disoriented.
In 2023, the Bank of Korea warned that high-income professions such as medicine, law and accountancy were highly vulnerable to AI disruption. Bill Gates and Elon Musk have also said AI could soon replace doctors and lawyers.
A survey of 1,225 employers and an analysis of roughly 3 million job postings conducted by Randstad, the world’s largest recruitment services firm, showed this month that about 38 percent of employers plan to hire fewer workers this year than last year because of AI.
For Koreans who have spent years fixated on elite universities and professional careers, such headlines only amplify anxiety without offering actionable alternatives.
Ryu Eun-hye, a 47-year-old mother of a first-year high school daughter, spends 1.5 million won a month on private education and plans to increase that amount when her daughter enters her second year.
“I’m anxious. My daughter is anxious. We’re both anxious,” she said.
“For those who study well and have fixed goals, they seem fine. But for ordinary students like my daughter, I don’t know what to tell her,” Ryu said.
“A few years ago, people said learning to code was the key to preparing for the future. Now that was replaced (by AI) first,” she said. “The problem is that nobody knows what will be replaced next.”
She said if AI had already replaced everything, it would be much easier to choose. But now, it is not. So she can’t be the only parent who pulls out of private education.
“Maybe children who grow up fully in the AI era will educate their own kids differently,” Ryu said. “But for parents like us, who grew up believing ‘SKY’ universities, elite professions and big companies define success, it’s not easy to prepare our children for a completely different path.”
“SKY” refers to the top three universities in South Korea — Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei.
Lee Byung-hoon, honorary professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University, says the anxiety among students and parents is real and expanding.
“AI’s job threat is fundamentally different from past disruptions,” he said. “The speed of change is frightening. When artificial general intelligence emerges, it will raise questions about whether human labor itself can be sustained.”
“Parents and students investing in education now may increasingly worry that no amount of studying can protect them from AI,” he said.
He predicted that the obsession with going to university no matter what may change in the future, albeit slowly.
“If a degree no longer guarantees employment or reward, some may conclude it’s better to enter skilled trades or service sectors that AI cannot replace.”
In the meantime, many students and parents remain focused on immediate goals.
A 21-year-old student surnamed Lee, who is preparing to retake the college entrance exam, said the idea of AI replacing professionals does not seem to have set in yet.
“People say professionals will be replaced, but top students still want medical school or law school,” she said. “Korea still values academic pedigree. From a student’s perspective, AI disruption ranks low in priorities,” she said.
She added that many applicants still “lower their major” to gain admission to higher-ranked universities, referring to the practice of choosing less competitive fields to improve their chances of acceptance.
“Maybe it’s because we haven’t experienced it ourselves.”
Another college applicant, 21, surnamed Choi, who is also preparing to retake the entrance exam in hopes of majoring in artificial intelligence, said the uncertainty itself is unsettling.
“The idea that AI could replace professional jobs feels anxiety-inducing,” she said. “Technology is advancing so fast that the job structure could change dramatically.”
“But the belief that academic pedigree and professional careers guarantee stability and social trust remains strong. That’s why entrance exams and professional competition will remain intense.”
A mother to a high school student who wished to remain anonymous strongly believed in academic pedigree — even in the AI era.
“No matter how much AI mimics humans, I don’t think it can replace them completely,” she said. “Money stays with those who already have it. Inequality will worsen. The ladder to cross classes is studying.”
“Academic pedigree is the only thing that lasts. It’s been that way for centuries and can’t be changed. There’s a sense of comfort that academic credentials provide.”
Education professor Yang Jung-ho of Sungkyunkwan University said private education spending is unlikely to decline for the time being.
“As long as Korea’s admissions system remains unchanged, private education will continue,” he said.
“People talk about doctors being replaced, but until those effects are felt directly, it’s hard to respond in any concrete way. There’s a lot of talk, but few visible changes.”
“From a student’s perspective, getting into a good university still offers the most advantage when choosing a career, which makes AI disruption harder to feel.”
Many young people currently preparing for professional careers continue to see them as the last viable route.
A CPA exam candidate shared a similar view: “I don’t feel it strongly yet. AI usage will increase, but a 100 percent replacement is impossible. Experts are still needed to use AI.”
A Yonsei University sophomore majoring in food and nutrition is preparing for a college transfer exam to switch into veterinary medicine. She believes the job of a dietitian can be replaced by AI, but that of veterinarians will not be.
“In professions directly handling life, like doctors, it is unclear where the accountability for AI errors lies,” she explained.