High-Priced English Camp Disappoints

Ms. Park (age: 44), a college lecturer, paid a visit to an introductory presentation for “Arirang TV English Camp,” which was held in Seoul in June. The supposedly top-notch camp caught her attention, because she heard that it targets parents from affluent parts of Seoul.

She decided that the camp deserved to have the big price tag, when she heard that all the teachers are either foreigners, who graduated from Ivy League universities or professional educators, who graduated from Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University.

When she saw a TV commercial for the camp on Arirang TV, she decided that the camp must be guarantee quality; the camp was being run by Arirang TV, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture & Tourism.

She sent her 15-year-old son, who is in his third year of middle school, on a four-week “English and Math Camp” starting in late July.

The camp fee for the four-week program was highest in the nation. English and math classes aimed at students aiming for special purpose high schools cost 3.8 million won, classes for students hoping to study abroad at an early age cost 4.0 million won, and the camp for adults cost 9.99 million won for the eight-week program and 12.99 million won for the 12-week program.

The Harvard grad turns out to be a high school grad-

In the information booklet that Ms. Kim received, there were many teachers with prominent backgrounds like Harvard University graduates.

In practice, however, the English teacher who taught Ms. Kim’s son was a 20-year-old high school graduate about to enter a state university in the U.S. Among the other four foreigners, three graduated from universities in Australia, and one graduated from Boston College. There was not a single Ivy League university graduate.

The math teachers also turned out to be students, not professional educators. A math teacher, who turned out to be a 28-year-old senior studying engineering, said, “The eight teachers were either graduate students or undergraduates. There were not any professional teachers.”

Disorganized classes and curriculum-

Classes could not proceed, because the teaching and studying material had not arrived even after the camp started. The English classes were put on hold for three days, while Korean math teachers purchased exercise books and handed out photocopied material. There were only math classes for three days.

The weekend curriculum also did not go as promised in the advertisements. Camp organizers had advertised that they would invite university students from the top schools to share their study methods, and professional teachers famous for their lectures intended to motivate students. The camp did not keep their promises during the first half of the camp. It invited one professional teacher, only after the parents protested.

Study abroad at an early age classes also in disarray-

Aside from the English camp, the “Arirang TV Session for a Successful Study Abroad at an Early Age” is also causing problems.

39 elementary and middle school students received a four-week lecture from foreign teachers and paid 500 million won to enter schools in the U.S., but this money was never passed on to the schools.

An employee at Arirang TV said, “Arirang TV runs neither the English camp nor the classes for students wishing to study abroad. We do not know of the problems, because we only allowed a company named, “International English Village Project” to use our name and received advertising fees in return.”

The employee went on to say that the amount of the advertising fees cannot be disclosed.

The parents of the students who took the early study abroad course already filed a suit against Mr. Chang, the International English Village Project, on charges of fraud to the Seocho Police Station in Seoul.

Mr. Chang went in hiding on October 1. He has withheld some 16 million won in wages from eight math teachers and still liabilities. Mr. Chang, who closed down his office, could not be contacted.