Parents Spend Lion's Share of Income on Educating Kids

Parents in Korea are spending more on educating their children than buying food. According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, education expenses took up 17 percent of total household spending for families with two or more children last year.

This number is higher than the average spending on other necessities such as food, which took up 13 percent of total spending. Families spent even less on transportation and their health, or 12 and 5.4 percent, respectively.

Education spending includes cost for private tutoring and crammers. In Korea, getting high scores and a place at a prestigious univerisity are seen as tickets to a good job and higher social status. More parents are foregoing their own leisure activities and spending less on other daily necessities to give their offspring a greater chance of success.

Experts say that parents need to balance their spending as more families are falling into debt while forking out exorbitant sums for their children's education.