The South Korean government recently announced plans to increase the country’s medical school admissions quota by 2,000 starting next year to deal with a longstanding shortage of doctors. In response, tutoring academies are creating preparatory classes tailored for people with day jobs aiming for a career change as a doctor.
Megastudy, one of the biggest academies in Korea, held a special lecture at 7 p.m. on March 5 for people in various professions who want to attend medical school. During the lecture, the instructor explained the changes in the medical school admission process due to increased quotas across the country.
“Assuming an increase of 2,000 medical school seats, one could afford to get about four more questions wrong in this year’s Korean SAT and still get into a medical school in the regional area,” the instructor said.
The lecture was attended by 15 individuals ranging in age from their 30s to their 50s, all eager to pursue their dream of entering medical school.
Park, an elementary school teacher who attended the lecture, mentioned that the social perception and treatment of teachers in Korea have recently worsened. Due to this, Park has been considering a career change. Park plans to attend evening classes after work this year and take a leave of absence next year to prepare more thoroughly for the transition.
In Korea, becoming a doctor requires obtaining nearly full marks in the National Entrance Exam for University, known as the Korean version of the SAT. Previously, getting into medical school was very difficult, but with the government’s decision to increase the number of medical students, the expectation of becoming a doctor is growing in Korean society.
The tutoring industry predicts that the number of working individuals preparing for medical school will increase once the final decision on the increase in medical school seats is made later this month.
Megastudy is opening a special evening class this month at the Seocho center in Seoul, targeting working professionals. This is the first time Megastudy is offering an evening medical class for people with full-time jobs.
“After the government announced the increase in medical school seats, we received a flood of inquiries from people with full-time jobs wanting to register, so we decided to offer the class,” an official from the academy official stated. Considering the commuting hours of people who typically have 9 to 6 jobs, classes start at 7:10 p.m., according to Megastudy.
Kim, aged 53, a self-employed individual, said, “I’ve always been considering ways to earn a stable income while running my business, and after seeing the news about the medical school increase, I came to find out more and am considering applying to medical school.” Seated next to Kim, three people working at a financial public corporation came together to attend the lecture.
Since the government announced an increase in the medical school quota last winter, academies have been increasing the number of lectures specifically designed for students who wish to enter medical school.
Jongro Academy held a special presentation about expected changes regarding entering medical school following the day after the government’s announcement last month, which around 4,000 people attended.
This year, the academy has also created its first-ever Medical School Class. The academy estimates that the number of students preparing for medical school could increase from about 9,500 last year to over 16,000 this year.
A representative from a major academy explained, “With the declining birth rate in South Korea, the private education sector is inevitably facing a decrease in revenue. Therefore, we are broadening our target customer base to include working professionals and college students in line with the medical school increase.”
He added, “Not only young working individuals but also academy instructors are inquiring about registration.”
Gangnam Hyper Academy, which specifically targets students who want to apply for medical school, has seen a surge of over 30% in inquiries about registering for their medical school preparation classes after the announcement of the increase in medical school seats. Consequently, the academy has expanded the class size by 10%.
Furthermore, the number of students attending the evening class to prepare for re-taking exams has increased by 20% compared to the previous year.
