Seoul - Post Report Question and Answers
Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?
For American kids living in Seoul, I'm not sure. Many expat teachers make extra money/better pay by working at day time "English Kindergartens." Don't be fooled, these are daycares with workbooks. The expectation is that having a Westerner teacher with a western accent will make your child have a perfect accent in English, despite how rare that is. The material is sometimes too advanced and parents put a lot of pressure on their child's academic performance. As for afterschool care, Hagwons/afterschool academies are widespread and teach everything from computer science to English to basketball. Kids in Korea sometimes stay out until as a late as 9 or 10pm at these cram schools. It can be intense, and some kids hate it. However, parents often work late hours, and these kind of places are necessary to stay ahead in the highly competitive education system. - Jan 2026
Preschools are expensive (US$1200+ per month for most English-language preschools) - Feb 2020
I don't have kids...but there is childcare on the bases. It's not cheap...and it's a mixed bag. Some people have opted to enroll their children in Korean programs. - Feb 2016
Yes, they are available, but we didn't have any experience with them. - Jul 2015
I know there are a lot of options here and people seem happy. - Feb 2015
Yes, most of the Korean options are full-day, every day It was hard to find a half-day option. There is a Christian program called Mustard Seed that has more options. - Jan 2014
Preschools include: Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC); Preschool Academy (PSA); Franciscan School; Namsan School; Rainbow Preschool. Preschools are very expensive in Seoul with many of them costing over $10,000 US and up to $20,000.The military base has a part time preschool for eligible government personnel and there is a daycare facility as well that follows rules and regulations outlined by base command and is quite good. - Sep 2009
Available on the base. Mixed reviews. - Jul 2008
This can be a problem. There are two daycare facilities on base-Mustard Seed and the base's community daycare. Nannies are difficult to sponsor and it is expensive to sponsor them. Most are from the Phillipines. - May 2008
