Some consider hagwons as private language centers or academies operated like businesses apart from the South Korean public school system.

Real estate prices are affected by proximity to elite hagwons, with homes located near these educational centers experiencing higher demand.

In 2023, it was reported that over half of test takers in the Gangnam and Seocho Districts retake the exam a year later because they were dissatisfied with their previous scores.

[2] While most hagwons focus on meeting educational needs, many also exist for a variety of nonacademic subjects, including music, art, swimming, and Taekwondo.

It was felt the advantage of private education unfairly burdened the poor and to promote equality, all access to it was made illegal.

[12] Korean courts have ruled that it may violate the constitution for the government to limit the amount of money hagwons can charge.

[18] In July 2009, to help catch violators of these new regulations, the government started a program to reward people who reported them.

[20][24] In making the ruling the court said, "Because it's important to secure sleep for high school students to overcome fatigue and for the sake of their growth, it's difficult to say that [the ban] excessively restricts basic rights."

Despite South Korea's now decreasing population and lowest fertility rate in the world,[4] spending on education has only grown.

[4] Becoming the most expensive country in the world to raise a child, which sparked many concerns for the South Korean economy, according to Time magazine.

While some see hagwons as filling a need not being adequately met by the public school system,[30] others see them as creating an unequal footing between the poor and rich in Korea.

[31][32] Although most Korean children attend hagwon, according to CNN, studies have still shown a measurable difference in educational outcomes based on the income of the parents.

[2] The Korean government has even provided 150 million won ($125,000) to each of the 400 schools that were selected nationwide to refurbish after-school programs and other classes.

A 2023 statistics indicate a notable increase in hagwon spending, disproportionately benefiting students from wealthier or geographically advantageous backgrounds.

[35] Daechi-dong, a neighborhood in Gangnam District, Seoul, which is known for its heavily concentrated wealth and high standard of living, is dubbed the "mecca of private education" in South Korea.

[citation needed] According to a report released on March 7, 2023, by the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea based on data collected from January 2022 to December 2022, the monthly average expenditures on hagwons and other private education for households at the bottom of the five-tier, income-based categorization with children aged 13-18, were \482,000 – only slightly higher than the 481,000 won these families spent on food.

In "SKY Castle", the plot centers on upper-class families destroying each other's lives by committing identity fraud, murder, and suicide in order to send their children to the top universities and secure lucrative career paths.

[4][6] A number of experts have expressed concerns about the mental health impact on especially the younger attendees,[4][6] and even on the parents who have to afford and carefully curate their children's education in order to have them be competitive.

[39] This pressure on mental health is not only felt by the students but also by their parents, who often face the financial and emotional burden of ensuring their children's success in an extremely competitive educational environment.

[41] As an effort to combat these issues, in 2010, the South Korean government implemented regulations to limit the operating hours of hagwons and reduce the academic burden on students.

[42] A higher-than-average concentration of hagwons in the Gangnam District, specifically Daechi-dong (대치동), has been cited as the primary reason for an increase in real estate costs in the area.

Many residents feel their children need to be associated with these schools to reach the upper levels of business and success.

Typically, financial assistance provides an education that helps differentiate one's value, this is where socioeconomic groups cause inequity in competition.

Some have complained of poor housing, non-payment, disagreements, and getting fired on the 11th month before they receive severance pay; however, many instructors have had no significant issues with the hagwon they have worked at.

They taught the Korean language, managed the assimilation of Korean-American children, and offered afterschool tutoring programs.

But in 2010, it was reported that some Korean parents in the United States viewed some hagwons in the New Jersey–New York area as being of similar quality.