Children Should Play
Inside of a typical Elementary school classroom in Korea. Courtesy of Huffington Post Korea.
Newly-elected South Korean President Yoon has recently announced that the Elementary school starting age will be lowered from six to five years old starting from 2025. In other words, in three years, first graders will consist of five and six-year-olds. The reasons for this change, as the education department states, are to have socially underprivileged children match their progress to the privileged, set teenagers ready for society by age seventeen, and capitalize on the speedy learning process at young ages. Despite this strong push by the government to change the policy for the first time since 1949, the revision must not be allowed to pass lest the future generation's education is jeopardized.
The impact of lowering the school starting age is mostly negative for children. A Stanford study on the relationship between school starting age and mental health has found that kids who started kindergarten at six rather than five had better self-control and attention. Starting kindergarten, let alone school at this age, is unsuitable for developing children. Additionally, it is found that older students receive a positive feedback loop; leadership roles are generally given to older students, which allows them to take more initiative in the future. This is especially important for Korea, as age is an important status in Korean society. The influence of older students may be amplified, both positively and negatively. Students who have started attending school at the age of five can struggle with bullying merely because they are young. Although the government attempts to aid younger children, these hidden issues will cause the opposite. The Yoon administration must realize that they are instigating possible conflicts inside schools that may grow into traumas for future generations as they become adults.
Now, let’s look at Korea’s education system compared to that of other countries. Only 21 out of 190 countries have their schools starting at age five, while others are mostly at six to seven. The international community is aware that having children attend school at the age of six is optimal, yet the Korean government is attempting to change the ideal status quo of keeping it at six. Nordic countries, which have extremely high literacy rates, all have their school starting age set at six to eight years old. South Korea should follow the models of other countries to build on its relatively strong education system, not harm it.
One way to continue this progress is to let children play. Many studies have shown that children develop imagination, motor skills, and emotions by freely playing alone or with their peers. The main places where Korean children usually play are at daycare centers or playgrounds, but having regular classes would force them to learn via lessons that are less productive than playing. The previous liberal-leaning Moon administration had set its goal to guarantee children the right to play based on the United Nations Rights of the Child. Conservative president Yoon’s policy change directly negates former President Moon's program, which may have been caused by differing political views. If this is true, President Yoon must set his priorities for children’s futures over political goals.
Another factor in this discussion that is unique to Korea is hagwon. They are private academies that most Korean students attend for hours after school. The hagwon industry is so large that it earned approximately $18.9 billion in revenue last year.
Students walk on the streets of Daechi-dong, a famous hagwon district, after their hagwon lessons. Courtesy of Joongang Ilbo.
With such a huge influence over students in Korea, five-year-olds can be swept into the hagwon industry, which is viewed to be essential for success. Also, many working parents who cannot take care of their children worry about being forced to send their kids to hagwons because after-school care is available only on a first-come, first-serve basis. Starting hagwons at a young age will undoubtedly increase the number of students having sixteen hours of school and hagwons daily, which are discussed as the main cause of high suicide rates for Korean youths. The increasing influence of hagwons will also widen the gap between the aforementioned less privileged and the privileged, as approximately $341 was spent monthly on private tutoring for every 1st-grade student. Therefore, the Yoon administration should reconsider the detrimental effects of lowering the minimum age for attending school when the status quo is much superior to the possible change.