Three-quarters of South Korean students received private tutoring in 2019, for which they spent 6 1/2 hours a week on average, a new survey showed.

The annual survey conducted by the national Statistics Korea and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the country’s youth population aged 9-24, found that 74.8 percent of those surveyed got private education outside public school. In 2016, the figure was 67.8 percent. The survey included elementary school students (fourth-sixth graders), middle and high school students.

Elementary school students were the biggest private education consumer group at 83.5 percent, followed by middle school students at 71.4 percent and high school students at 61 percent. (Yonhap)