In Korea, the best grades may go to the student with the most expensive AI subscription
As the gap between paid and free versions of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT widens, some experts warn of an income divide, as students with money can subscribe to better or multiple services.
The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen, on Aug. 4, 2025.AP/YONHAP
For Kim, a 23-year-old sociology student at a university in Seoul, ChatGPT has become indispensable.
He uses his paid ChatGPT Pro plan to summarize his lecture materials, generate practice test questions and re-explain confusing concepts. For assignments, he uses it to find sources and outline his papers.
The $200 monthly price tag, roughly 270,000 won, costs about as much as 26 hours of work at Korea’s minimum wage. The cost stings, Kim admitted, but he feels as if he has no choice.
“People around me say that you’re a fool if you don’t use paid AI for […] studying,” he said. “[The cost] is a burden, but I end up using the most expensive [plan for ChatGPT], with almost no limits on usage or features.”
As generative AI becomes an essential study tool on Korean campuses, concerns are growing about a new kind of educational divide. Students now use AI for everything, from writing assignments and reports to searching for and summarizing sources, translating, coding and preparing for exams. Which tools they can afford is starting to shape their academic results.
Free versions of generative AI programs exist, but their latest models and advanced features typically cost extra, up to tens of dollars per month. Students who subscribe to several programs pay even more.
In a recent survey of 17,381 middle and high school students nationwide by Dreambase, an AI education company, 86.1 percent of participants, including 88.9 percent of high schoolers and 79.9 percent of middle schoolers, said that they had used generative AI.
A student checks her smartphone in front of a middle school in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2024.YONHAP
But paying for AI was another matter. About 16.8 percent of students in Seoul said that they paid for a service, compared to 10.3 percent outside the greater Seoul area.
“Free AI is fine for simple questions, but for analyzing papers […] or for important assignments, paid AI feels better,” said Lee Hyun-ji, a university student. “Friends share tips about which AI works best for what.”
“[Studying] used to be about who had a laptop or a tablet,” she continued. “Now it feels like your grades depend on which AI program you subscribe to.”
As the gap between paid and free versions widens, some experts warn of a divide resembling the one created by private tutoring: Students with money can subscribe to multiple services and choose the right one for each task, but others must work within the limits of free tools.
The more that AI becomes the default in academic life, the wider that gap could grow.
“Paid AI lets students study more efficiently and earn better marks on assignments, so a gap in grades is inevitable,” said Choi Hang-sub, a sociology professor at Kookmin University. “But that gap in grades will eventually become an income gap.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
