Actress Kim Sung-eun recently grabbed headlines for spending over 3 million won a month on private education. She is now drawing attention for her new educational philosophy of “selection and focus” after moving away from the intense Daechi-dong trend.
During the May 13 broadcast of MBC’s Radio Star, Kim Sung-eun recalled her passion for her first child’s education, saying, “I raised my first as a Daechi-dong kid. Whenever friends asked if I knew a certain academy, I knew them all because I’d sent my child there.”
She detailed the intensity, noting, “For math alone, I sent them to academies for calculations, geometry, critical thinking, and school curriculum. I also had them do soccer and ice hockey.” She added, “Rumors even spread that ‘Kim Sung-eun is sitting in every single academy in Daechi-dong.’ I was very passionate, but once my first child started focusing on soccer, the Daechi-dong kid era ended.”
Based on that experience, she adopted a “selection and focus” strategy for her second and third children. “For my second, I focused on arts and sports, though they still did Korean, English, and math. Because of that, I reduced the number of academies. As for my third, I don’t make them do anything except soccer and art,” she shared.
Explaining the background of her initial passion, she said, “My mother sent me to a lot of academies when I was young. I think I raised my children the way I learned from her.” However, she added, “Now, my mindset has changed to letting them do what they actually want to do.”
Previously, Kim Sung-eun became a hot topic on her YouTube channel after revealing that she spends over 3 million won a month on private education for her second child (elementary school) and third child (preschool), excluding the costs for her eldest (high school).
Regarding this, she confessed, “At the time, my second child was attending over 10 academies, and the total education cost exceeded 3 million won a month. I didn’t realize it would become such a big issue.” She also mentioned that “salary” started appearing in the related search terms for her husband, Jung Jo-gook, clarifying, “Many people think I’m educating the kids solely with my husband’s money, but I also work hard and use the money I earn for their education.”
Kim Sung-eun married former soccer player Jung Jo-gook in 2009 and has two sons and one daughter.
