Actress Kim Sung-eun opened up about how her views on education changed while raising her three children.
On the May 13 episode of MBC’s variety show ‘Radio Star,’ which featured a “Teacher’s Day Passionate Priests” special with Seo Kyung-seok, Choi Tae-sung, Kim Sung-eun, and Hwang Min-ho, Kim Sung-eun caught attention by honestly sharing her children’s education methods.
She first looked back on her intense passion for education when raising her first child. Kim Sung-eun recalled, “I raised my first child like a real ‘Daechi-dong kid.’ If other parents talked about academies, I knew almost all of them.”
In fact, her first child attended several academies simultaneously for a single subject. She surprised everyone by revealing, “For math alone, I sent them to four different places: calculation, geometry, critical thinking, and curriculum. I also had them do both soccer and ice hockey.”
Kim Sung-eun added with a laugh, “Since my child followed along well, I think I pushed harder. In Daechi-dong, people used to say, ‘No matter which academy you go to, Kim Sung-eun is there.'”
Her mother’s influence played a role in this passion. She said, “My mom also sent me to a lot of academies when I was young.” She explained, “I think I raised my kids the way I learned from my mother, but now my mindset has shifted toward letting them do what they want.”
However, the first child, who was the center of this educational passion, gave up the “Daechi-dong kid” title after deciding to pursue soccer. This experience significantly changed her parenting values. Kim Sung-eun confessed, “Seeing my first child, I realized that while it’s right for a mother to provide various opportunities, ultimately, the child must do what they love.”
Because of this, she changed the educational direction for her second child onwards. Kim Sung-eun shared, “For my second child, I focus on arts and sports that they enjoy, and we only do the basics for Korean, English, and Math. As for my third child, I actually don’t force anything. They only attend soccer and art academies; I don’t send them to any academic ones.”
Kim Sung-eun also directly addressed the past controversy regarding her children’s education costs. She noted, “While creating YouTube content, I once organized the children’s academy fees. At the time, my second child was attending over 10 academies, and the total monthly education cost exceeded 3 million won.”
These costs sparked more interest than expected. She laughed, saying, “I didn’t know it would become such an issue. ‘Salary’ even popped up as a related search term for my husband, Jung Jo-guk.” She clarified, “Many people think I educate the children using only my husband’s money, but I also use the money I’ve worked hard to earn.”
When asked which academy she would choose if she could only send her child to one, she answered “arts and sports.” Her reason was unexpected: “If you don’t have physical strength, you can’t study,” she emphasized, adding a final touch of realistic educational philosophy that left everyone laughing.
