Coffee, shops, become, hagwon, waiting, rooms

Gangnam parents are using their neighborhood's coffee shops to wait for their kids while they're in their hagwons... all day long. They also use the time to form 'teams' to choose their children's friends. This translation comes from reader Christina Murphy.

While waiting for their kids’ classes to end, mothers are tutoring and sharing information with each other…and on the weekends the fathers come too.

On the 28th of last month at around 4pm in Gangnam’s Daechi-dong, a local cafe was crowded with forty and fifty something women. With about three or four to a table, almost thirty tables were taken, with non stop discussions about who can tutor mathematics and which English hagwon is best.

At one table of three, 42-year old fur coat-clad Mrs. Min seemed to be leading the conversation as she sipped coffee and exchanged information with two others. After taking their 3rd grade children to school they meet and have coffee together. From Mrs. Min’s son’s 11 am essay writing class begins until his mathematics class finishes at 6 pm she waits in nearby cafes and exchanges tips and information with other parents.

He said that Daechi dong cafés no longer notice that we are only having one cup of coffee and that most of the women there were exchanging information about schools and tutors while waiting for their children.

With around 700 hagwons clustered around Daechi-dong, other cafes that are near to hagwons are experiencing the same kind of custom. Before the beginning of new semesters this happens all the more. 44-year old Mrs. Park said that during the holidays is the most important time for networking. Which teams you build will affect the kids’ performance in the future semester.

On another table there are three people who have been meeting regularly for the last 7 years. One of them said, “by targeting different universities admission strategies, our meetings can make our sons achieve.”

48-year old Mr. Oh, whose daughter is in middle school, said that while her mother is working, her grandmother helps by taking notes at the meetings for her.

48-year old cafe owner Han Seok-yun said that from the morning when the children have been sent to school until as late as 10 pm the mothers are here waiting and that on the weekends the fathers also come.

These meetings are not just a place for sharing hagwon information though. 45 year old Mr Kang, whose son is in high school said that he uses the meetings as a place to share tips and learn to cope with his son growing up.