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Hagwon ((朝鮮語:학원); also ''hagweon'' or ''hakwon'') is the Korean-language word for a for-profit private institute, academy or cram school prevalent in South Korea. Although most widely known for their role as "cram schools", where children can study to improve scores, hagwon actually perform several educational functions: they provide supplementary education that many children need just to keep up with the regular school curriculum, remedial education for the children who fall behind in their work, training in areas not covered in schools, and preparation for students striving to improve test scores and preparing for the high school and university entrance examinations (the university entrance exam is also called suneung). Many other children, particularly younger children, attend nonacademic hagwon for piano lessons, art instruction, swimming, and taekwondo. Most of the young children have been to a hagwon for piano or art lessons at least once. Hagwon also play a social role, and many children, especially the younger ones, say they like going to hagwon because they are able to make new friends; many children ask to be sent because their friends attend. There are many hagwon for adults too, such as flower arrangement and driving-license hagwon. The term is also sometimes used to describe similar institutions operated by Korean Americans in the United States. Children of all ages often attend hagwon, even those in the pre-school age bracket. It is not uncommon for students to be enrolled in several hagwon of different subject areas at once in addition to their normal school attendance. Hagwon often specialize in subjects like mathematics, foreign languages, science, arts, or music. Many hagwon also have adults as students, particularly those dedicated to teaching the English language. While some see hagwon as filling a need not being adequately met by the public school system, others see them as creating an unequal footing between the poor and rich in Korea. In 2008 it was reported that there were over 70,000 hagwon in South Korea with 47 percent of them focused on high school enrollment. ==History and regulations== In 1885, Henry Appenzeller founded the Paichai school as a cover for his missionary work. At the time it was illegal to preach other religions in Korea. Although his main goal was to spread his faith, it was still used by Koreans to learn English. Private education, known as ''kwa-oe'' (과외), was banned by President Chun Doo-hwan in 1980. It was felt the advantage of private education unfairly burdened the poor and to promote equality, all access to it was made illegal. Through the years the government has relaxed the restrictions on private education by increasingly allowing more individuals and organizations to offer private education until the ban was ruled unconstitutional in the 1990s. Korean courts have ruled that it may violate the constitution for the government to limit the amount of money hagwon can charge. In early 2008, the Seoul government was working on changes to the regulations to allow hagwons to set their own hours, citing individual choice as trumping regulation. However, the government reversed its position five days later. The regulations were criticized as ineffective because the city council possessed limited resources to monitor and enforce them. Along with these restrictions, hagwon also had to disclose their tuition amounts to the government so people could complain if the schools attempted to raise the tuition. The licenses of hagwon caught running false advertisements will be revoked. Hagwon are required to issue cash receipts. In July 2009, to help catch violators of these new regulations, the government started a program to reward people who reported them. The regulations were intended to reduce the cost of private education. However, some hagwon added weekend classes to compensate for shorter weekday classes. Other parents have sought out private tutors to make up for lost study time. Other hagwon simply ignored the regulations. It was reported in April 2009 that 67 percent of hagwon sampled were found to have overcharged for tuition. Forty percent were found to have charged parents over two times the registered tuition amount. In March 2008, the government prohibited school teachers from creating test questions for hagwon. It had been found that some teachers were leaking tests and test questions to hagwon, giving the students who attended those schools advantages when it came time to take the test. A petition was made in October 2009 by parents, teachers, students and hagwon owners to challenge the government's legislation regarding hagwon closing times in Seoul and Busan. The constitutional court ruled that the laws did not violate the constitution. The restriction was put in place for Seoul and Busan in the summer of 2009.〔 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 (ban ) excessively restricts basic rights." In April 2010 it was reported that there were over 25,000 hagwon registered with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, with nearly 6,000 being in the Gangnam area. It was also revealed that local government councils other than Seoul had decided not to implement the 22:00 curfew. The curfew was seen as not having an impact on education fees and not addressing the real concern with private education. Despite the curfew, there have been attempts to get around this curfew among hagwon in Seoul. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hagwon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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