Elementary schoolchildren in Korea are as busy as high school students, who are often regarded as the busiest as they prepare for university entrance exams. The National Youth Policy Institute conducted a survey in the second semester of last year on 1,745 sixth graders in elementary school, second- and third-year middle school students, and first-year high school students.

The average time elementary school students spend for leisure activities was 195.6 minutes per day on weekdays, slightly more than the 195.2 minutes for high school students. That means elementary schoolchildren get only three hours of rest in a 24-hour day.

Surprisingly, middle school students had an average of 241.2 minutes of leisure time per day, 45 minutes more than elementary schoolchildren. Even on weekends, elementary schoolchildren only had 442.5 minutes of free time a day, only 40 minutes more than high school students.

Elementary schoolchildren spend 208 minutes a day at private crammers after school. They have shorter school hours than middle-to-high schoolchildren but spend longer studying in private crammers. They play computer games for an average of 84 minutes and devote 69 minutes to physical activities such as ballet or taekwondo lessons.

Lee Ki-bong at the institute said, "As the number of dual-income families increases, many parents send their children to crammers because they can't spend much time with them. But the early education craze also plays a part."

SOURCE / The Chosun Ilbo http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/02/06/2012020601281.html