Unaccredited international schools operate in a legal gray zone, so why do parents continue to choose them?

A mother of two living in Yongin, Gyeonggi, wants to send her youngest child, a daughter, to an international school so she can learn fluent English.

She faces a hurdle, however. Admission to accredited international schools is limited to students with foreign citizenship or prior overseas residency. The mother is considering an alternative, a so-called unaccredited international school, despite the government's growing efforts to tighten oversight of such institutions.

International schools in Korea are accredited if they are recognized by the Ministry of Education, meaning their curricula and diplomas are officially accepted within the country's education system. Unaccredited schools lack such recognition, so their coursework and diplomas are not formally recognized and typically require separate equivalency certification for academic progression. 

“I’m planning for my child to continue in an international school after finishing English kindergarten, so I’m hoping they reach the level required to get into that school,” the mother, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “Unaccredited schools are accessible for admission.”  

Unaccredited international schools teach every course in English and have no admission requirements other than an English entrance exam, making it an attractive option for parents who want their children to continue their second-language education after graduating from English kindergartens. 

Unauthorized schools offering full K–12 curricula confer diplomas recognized in the United States and have long served as alternatives to accredited institutions. Although they have reportedly existed since the early 2000s, they have faced intensifying government crackdowns since the 2010s, when their numbers began to rapidly rise.

This option puts students at risk of potentially having to transfer in the middle of their education, as such schools may face penalties or be forced to shut down if they violate regulations. But some parents still opt for the unaccredited path, as it could be a leverage for their kids for a variety of goals, such as pursuing studies overseas.

A path to overseas studies 

The unaccredited schools’ programs provide an education system tailored to prepare students to enter college in the United States or other English-speaking countries.  

These schools use curricula utilized in U.S. institutions and often run the Advanced Placement program, which allows high school students to take college-level courses and earn university credits.  

This puts graduates from unaccredited schools at a significant advantage over those with ordinary Korean school backgrounds when it comes to applying to universities in English-speaking countries.  

“As far as I know, about 95 percent of students who enroll in unaccredited schools plan to attend college in the United States or Europe,” a mother whose daughter graduated from an unaccredited international school in Yongin, Gyeonggi, in 2023, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.  

Unaccredited schools are not an ideal choice for those planning to pursue higher education in Korea, as Korean institutions require valid high school diplomas.

Diplomas from unaccredited schools are not recognized by the Korean government, forcing graduates to take the General Education Development Test, which assesses academic proficiency across all school levels as equivalent to formal schooling, if they wish to enroll in college in Korea. 

But numbers suggest that unaccredited schools are far more prevalent in Korea. The country had 159 English-language educational institutions in 2023, according to research firm ISC Research. Only 29 were accredited international schools, while about 130 operated without approval, enrolling an estimated 26,000 students.

A lower-cost alternative to study abroad 

Unaccredited schools can ensure that students achieve English fluency at a relatively low cost while living in Korea.  

“It did not cost as much as I thought,” one mother from Gyeonggi said. “Annual tuition was around 25 million won [$17,000]. It did go up over time, but not by a significant amount.” 

Authorized international schools in Korea are similarly priced, with annual tuition typically ranging from about 25 million to 39 million won, depending on grade level. 

Attending a boarding school in the United States, on the other hand, costs well above $60,000 as of 2026, according to data from the Education Data Initiative.  

That amount can be extra expensive for Korean families due to the exchange rate, flight costs and boarding fees. Studying overseas also inevitably separates families, creating a circumstance where they can spend time with each other only during vacations.  

“At first, I thought about sending my daughter to an [accredited] international school in Jeju, but it was too expensive and too far away, so I chose a school closer to home that she could commute to by school shuttle bus,” the mother said. “I found a lot of good schools outside the capital area, but they all required boarding. It felt too soon to send a sixth-grade student away, so I chose this school instead since it had a shuttle bus.”

Many unaccredited schools are in Seoul and Gyeonggi, two of the most populated areas in the country, making them accessible to a large number of families.   

Some parents also turn to unaccredited schools because they are dissatisfied with Korea’s highly competitive system, where students are graded on a relative scale, meaning only a set percentage can earn top marks. Even strong scores may result in lower grades if others perform better, affecting class rankings and university admissions, where colleges factor in grades determined by relative ranking. 

“Many [parents] feel there are many problems with Korea’s public education system, so they don’t want to send their children to public schools,” the mother said.  

Looming crackdowns 

Whether these unaccredited institutions can remain open, however, is unclear due to emerging government regulations.  

The court has fined multiple unauthorized schools across the country for running their facilities like actual schools without formal approval from the government. Although operating them as private cram schools is allowed, advertising them as authorized schools or running a grade-level system is subject to criminal penalties.  

One unaccredited school in Busan was fined 10 million won in 2021 for operating a grade-tailored system.

The Education Ministry earlier this year also vowed to take action against these lawbreaking institutions, including forcible shutdowns, in response to concerns raised by Democratic Party Rep. Baek Seung-ah, who said on Aug. 26 of last year, “International schools are charging tens of millions of won in tuition without providing recognized academic credentials, and authorities are still leaving even religiously biased educational facilities unchecked. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has not even properly identified the nationwide situation.”

The Education Ministry’s crackdown plan also includes legal revisions to introduce additional sanctions, including publicly disclosing violations if institutions fail to comply with closure orders, according to a document released by the ministry on April 29. 

Even under the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act, operating a facility as a school without official authorization may lead to a closure order and is punishable by up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.

“I know someone who has sent three of her kids to an unaccredited school,” the mother said. “Her third kid still goes there, but if the school shuts down due to crackdowns, she will have no choice but to find a new school.”  

 The government, however, may have to spend a long time examining the legality of these schools nationwide, as around 130 such institutions were in operation in 2026.   

Until stricter regulations are enforced on unaccredited schools, these institutions may continue to function as a viable long-term option for parents aiming to strengthen their children’s English proficiency and lay the groundwork for future studies abroad.  

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]