Around 40 percent of households in Seoul with elementary and secondary school students spend more than 910,000 won ($813) on private education per month, a survey showed Tuesday.

According to the telephone survey of 261 parents having elementary and secondary school children, 36.6 percent said they spend more than 910,000 won on average per month for private education, followed by 410,000 won to 500,000 won with 11.6 percent and 510,000 won to 600,000 won with 9.9 percent, the data showed.

The category of “more than 910,000 won” was the highest amount presented in the survey, the municipal government said.

“That amount will be a huge burden for households, as the monthly income of a household in Seoul reached about 4 million won,” a Seoul city official said.

The poll, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in August, has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

In 2011, South Korea’s spending on private education per student averaged 240,000 won per month, with the parents in the country spending a total of 20.1 trillion won for it as a whole, according to government data.

English and math are the two major subjects on which parents spent the bulk of their money. Spending on the two came to monthly averages of 81,000 won and 70,000 won, respectively, last year. (Yonhap News)