No longer child's play: Class president elections become serious business for cram schools

In Seoul’s hypercompetitive education market, even elections for elementary school class president have become a business for cram schools. Parents are paying academy-level fees for one-on-one coaching in campaign speeches, on-camera tests and customized pledges, turning what was once a simple school election into yet another high-priced race for an edge.

With tuition fees comparable to what parents pay for major Korean, English and math classes, these programs offer a wide range of training and consulting, drawing dozens of students to election preparation classes every semester.

At the entrance of a speech cram school in Daechi-dong in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on March 5 — mere days after the new semester began in Korea — certificates appointing students as school and class presidents at elementary schools covered the walls. Also posted was a message from a student at a nearby elementary school who won an election for student vice president this year. “I was elected thanks to your help,” wrote the student to the instructor. “Thank you.”

Inside the cram school, there was a classroom equipped with a standing desk and a chroma key backdrop for on-camera tests. The cram school runs election preparation classes for elementary school presidential races, starting as early as January and February.

“Presidential election lessons are offered only one-on-one, and monthly fees range from 100,000 won ($67) to 200,000 won depending on whether the student is running for a school or class position,” said Yu, the cram school director and a former announcer hired through a broadcaster’s open recruitment process.

Speech academies tout customized teaching strategies tailored to the characteristics of each school and student. Instructors study election guidelines at nearby elementary schools in advance and teach accordingly.

“If the speech has to be delivered from the broadcasting room inside the school, we focus on breathing control, and if it is given in the auditorium, we teach students to make bigger gestures,” said a spokesperson for a speech cram school in Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul.

“If a student is timid, we might come up with a pledge like, ‘I will be a dependable president like a deeply rooted tree,’ and if a student is playful, we might write a speech that mixes in trendy catchphrases,” said the director of a speech cram school in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, surnamed Lee. About 60 to 70 students take election preparation classes at this cram school each semester.

One reason elementary school students become so focused on presidential elections is to prepare for middle school admissions. Because subject grades from elementary school are not recorded in official school records, students try to demonstrate leadership and healthy peer relationships through the presidential experience and other related activities.

“Students aiming to get into private middle schools come to the cram school particularly often,” said the official. “Some start attending as early as the fourth grade to run for student vice president in the first semester of the fifth grade.”

As presidential elections have become competitive enough for families to spend hundreds of thousands of won on them, some elementary schools have started placing restrictions on campaigning. They ban pledges to hand out snacks or stationery and prohibit the use of props during speeches.

“Some schools tell students to wear only neutral colors because parents have even made custom campaign outfits for them,” said Yoo. “Others ban all choreography and gestures, and require students to deliver speeches only while standing upright.” 

Some elementary schools are scrapping class presidential elections altogether because the contests have become too competitive, according to the head of a franchise speech cram school in Daechi-dong. 

As presidential elections have entered the realm of private education, concerns are growing in the education field.

“A class presidential election is students’ first step in learning democracy,” said an elementary school teacher in Siheung, Gyeonggi. “I worry that the meaning of the election will fade if it turns into credential-building competition driven by cram school-made campaign pledges.”

Some also say public education should be doing more to build these skills.

“Campaign pledges and speeches prepared at academies tend to stand out,” said Prof. Park Ju-hyoung of Gyeongin National University of Education’s Department of Education. “Schools need to provide more systematic instruction in speech writing and formal speaking so those gaps do not emerge.”

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.

BY LEE GYU-RIM [[email protected]]