System 73 (2018) 80e88

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System
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/system

English just is not enough!: Neoliberalism, class, and

children's study abroad among Korean families
Juyoung Song
Murray State University, 7C Faculty Hall, Murray, KY 42071, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Early study abroad (ESA) has been popular among middle/upper class Korean families who
Received 23 January 2017 use overseas experiences for the accumulation of capital and class mobility. Following up
Received in revised form 17 October 2017 with two graduate student families in Song (2012), this study examines these two families'
Accepted 22 October 2017
post-ESA experiences from the mothers' perspectives. It attends particularly to the role of
Available online 3 November 2017
English in their children's educational trajectories and the family's class positioning against
economically-privileged Gangnam families.
Keywords:
The results demonstrate the two mothers' complex attitudes toward linguistic and class
Early study abroad
Class
ideologies that deepen the ‘English divide’ in Korean society. While they criticized class-
Neoliberalism based inequalities surrounding English education, they themselves were content with
South Korea the linguistic capital accumulated overseas for their children's competitiveness in the
English education Korean educational context and beyond. They also realized that the increasing number of
English divide good English speakers with superior economic means deprived them of the privilege
associated with the competence in English. That is, the value of competence is synergistic
with other social advantages that are highly dependent on one's economic background.
The results illuminate how class mediates not only the distribution, but also the return of
the capital through a powerful neoliberal social order that drives Koreans to pursue the
valuable capital at any cost.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Children's early study abroad1 (ESA) to English speaking countries has been very popular among middle/upper class Asian
families who use the overseas experiences for the accumulation of capital and class mobility (Chew, 2010; Ong, 1999; Park &
Lo, 2012; Song, 2010). While ESA has provided young children with opportunities to learn English efficiently at an early age
and to experience diverse cultural and educational programs overseas, it has also promoted new social phenomena by
modifying the meaning of family life (Cho & Shin, 2008), deepening class inequality through families' ‘excessive’ investment
in their children's English acquisition (Lee, 2015; Park & Lo, 2012), and extending domestic competitions over class, identity,
and capital into transnational space (Kang & Abelmann, 2011; Song, 2012a).

E-mail address: Jsong2@murraystate.edu.

1
It takes various forms, periods, and locations: children-only ESA through home stays or boarding schools and family-accompanied ESA through
company sponsorship or for parents' study; long-term ESA in western English-speaking countries and short-term stays in Asian countries. In many cases,
the goals of study abroad, parents' work or study and children's study abroad, overlap. Thus, the term, ESA, in this study is used broadly to refer to children's
study abroad before college.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.10.007
0346-251X/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88 81

While numerous studies have discussed transnational and educational experiences of Korean families and children during
their study abroad at various locations, there has been little discussion of their experiences after returning to Korea. Song
(2012a) describes how two families of Korean graduate students compete with economically privileged ESA families by
investing in different linguistic and social capital during their study abroad. As a continuation of that study, this article seeks
for answers for the following two question, from the two mothers' perspectives: (1) What is the role of study abroad and
English competence in the two children's educational trajectories?; (2) What is the role of their class in maintaining and
accruing cultural capital of English after study abroad?
The article begins by addressing how English, class, and neoliberalism intersect in Korea, focusing on educational policies
and practices followed by a discussion of how ESA, driven by a neoliberal ideology, reflects and deepens class struggle. The
data analysis section begins with the discussion of the educational trajectories of the two children, Sunjae and Joonho, after
their study abroad. Then, it examines the mothers' views of their deteriorated class positioning in relation to the affluent
Korean families and its effect on the cultural capital of children's English competence. By discussing tensions over ideologies
of English and children's English acquisition, particularly how competence in English is socially distributed and assessed as an
index of socioeconomic background, this study illuminates how children's English acquisition is a site for reflecting and
reproducing class struggle and neoliberal social order.

2. Literature review

2.1. Neoliberalism and South Koreans’ ESA

English fever or English frenzy in Korean society manifests in various educational policies and proposals advanced by
several administrations over the past two decades. Among them are the introduction of English to elementary schools (3rd
grade) in the early 1990s, English Villages where only English is permitted, the teaching English in English (TEE) method
implemented in secondary education, frequent changes to English curricula to emphasize the acquisition of communicative
competence, a proposal for English immersion for all subject areas in public schools, and the establishment of prestigious
special high schools that emphasize English competence. Similarly, in higher education, universities have been pressured to
offer English medium courses and to require English test scores for graduation in an effort to internationalize campuses. These
various policies emphasize English in education and job markets. As a result, English has become one of the ‘soft skills’
(Urciuoli, 2008) that are crucial for academic and career success in Korea.
This English frenzy is closely related to the neoliberal educational market, which valorizes English, especially the standard
English of native speakers (Park, 2010, 2011; Piller & Cho, 2013). Neoliberalism as an economic theory undergirded by
individualism and laissez-faire policies that encourage free market competition has been the driving force for the global
spread of new capitalism for the past several decades. In the field of language education, the ideology that promotes English
as a world language underlines neoliberalism (Phillipson, 2008), since the globalization of the free market theory naturalizes
English for both individual and national competitiveness in the global market (Piller & Cho, 2013). As a result, English has
become ‘the embodiment of neoliberal ideology’ across the world (Holborow, 2012, p. 26).
To restructure its economy after the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, the Korean government proposed various projects
under the slogan ‘segehwa’ (globalization). Those policies aimed to produce ’global citizens’ who were competitive in the
global market and to boost the nation's economy. As those polices facilitated individuals' linguistic capital accumulation
through English acquisition, English has become a gatekeeper for social, economic, and educational success in Korea. That is,
neoliberalism, which in theory originally intends to deregulate policies, in fact serves to regulate or monopolize individuals'
choices, which has resulted in a rigid social order and a high level of inequality (Piller & Cho, 2013). In this regard, Piller and
Cho (2013) contend that neoliberalism itself ranks among Korea's language policies as it imposes English as ‘a natural and
neutral medium of academic excellence’ in many colleges (p. 42).
As such, globalization, neoliberalism, and English remain closely associated. The emphasis on English in education and job
markets has led Koreans either to invest heavily in English or worry about obtaining sufficient capital, often feeling inferior to
those with a near-native command of English (Park, 2015). However, as Koreans do not use English daily, self-discipline or a
mastery of contents on tests in school is inadequate for achieving linguistic competence. Korean parents use various means to
help their children acquire the language, e.g., English kindergarten, private lessons, afterschool English institutes, and study
abroad to English-speaking countries. In this context, children's proficiency in English becomes a marker of families' class
background as middle and upper class children have access to the most efficient and quality resources and familial support for
English acquisition. Additionally, several governmental policies, including the establishment of English Village, prestigious
high schools that emphasize English, and English immersion in public schools, serve the interests of Korean middle/upper
class families, whose access to English further enhances their economic and cultural privilege (Park, 2010, 2011, 2013). In this
regard, competence in English indexes and mediates a class position and becomes a powerful resource for distinction (Block,
2014).
Furthermore, Park (2010) argues that English in Korea comes to index ‘an ideal way of being’, going beyond a marker of
social status and power (p. 25). He explains that English plays a significant role in Koreans' everyday life since the nation's
initial neoliberal transformation in the mid-1990s. The introduction of English to elementary schools and the removal of the
school equalization policy, which unified school curricula and student selection procedures, brought about a liberalization
and increased competition among schools. In this way, the quality of a school's English education determined its prestige and
82 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88

hence its competitiveness (Park, 2013). In recent years, as the role of English has become more pervasive, the pursuit of
English as social and economic capital has become fiercer and has made even clearer the interaction between English and
class. Good English skills index the speakers' cosmopolitan membership as they are associated with certain locations where
speakers acquire those skills, implying experience in the cultures and lives beyond Korea (Park, 2013). Additionally, Korean
media, by idealizing successful English learners as self-motivated, self-disciplined, and self-strategizing, deemphasize the
social and economic advantages that facilitate the acquisition of English (Park, 2010). That is, the discourse of linguistic
‘success’ conveniently aligns with a neoliberal ideology that highlights individual freedom and self-development.
In this regard, English proficiency in Korean society comes to index one's class background (covertly) and individual
qualities (overtly) in the official discourse, which together create an image of idealized, desirable neoliberal personhood (Park
& Lo, 2012). And, the indexical meaning of English that emerges from the public discourse and government policies eventually
works to justify and rationalize the inequality presented through the intersection of English and class (Park, 2013).

2.2. Children's study abroad and class

Korean ESA for English acquisition represents how English mediates class differences and how the meaning of English
indexes an ideal social being. Class refers to a family's economic status, parents' educational level and wealth, their place of
residence, and social networking (Block, 2014). Many middle class Korean families use ESA to help their children acquire
English at a young age through immersion in English speaking countries. As living and study abroad is costly and only
available for those who have economic means, ESA has been considered a transnational strategy by middle and upper class
families for class maintenance and mobility (Park & Bae, 2009; Song, 2010). As a result, this strategy has brought Korean
communities at home and abroad various social conflicts and struggles.
In Korea, the opportunity to secure their position alongside socially and economically privileged ESA families has
intensified the competition among parents and students over access to English educationda competition driven by the
intersection of class struggle and neoliberal ideology (Lee, 2015; Park & Abelmann, 2004; Song, 2012b). Lee (2015) examined
the meaning of English for affluent Korean families who live in the Gangnam region, where residents have the nation's
highest investment in education, especially in English education. Parents in Lee (2015) considered competence in English by
children from their ESA to English-speaking countries as a requirement for these families' membership in the region's middle
and upper class community. Similarly, one mother in Song (2012b) supported her children's study abroad experience in the
U.S. on the assumption that they would join the Gangnam middle-class community upon their return because membership in
the community affords a powerful social network and a family's upward mobility. Park and Abelmann (2004) also illustrated
Korean mothers' struggle to provide quality private English education to their children in the context of the increasing
number of families who exhibit good English through their study abroad. They called the mothers' longing for English and its
associated symbolic value, ‘cosmopolitan striving’, a term with class implications as middle-class parents demonstrate a
stronger desire and high investment in English education.
ESA also affects English professionals in Korea, increasing anxiety about their competence and class positioning against
elite study abroad returnees and their good English, an image of desirable personhood created and circulated through
neoliberal ideology (Cho, 2015; Cho, 2012; Lo & Kim, 2012; Song, 2016). For example, Korean-American English teachers in
Cho (2012) found their privilege as ‘native’ English speakers undermined by ESA returnees who have good English and class
advantage. Lo & Kim (2012) also discussed how the recent ESA phenomenon and the existence of elite returnees in Korean
society work to devalue the linguistic and social capital of Korean Americans. Cho (2015) also demonstrated that English
translators returning from their study abroad suffered from persistent linguistic insecurity and a feeling of guilt due to the
lack of ‘spirit’ required for success. One of the participants in Cho (2015) referred to himself as ‘a fraud’ who needs to use a
mask in public to meet the ideal image of the study abroad returnee. Cho pointed out the irony that the neoliberal ideology
that forces Koreans to go overseas for English in turn leads them to feel inadequate and incompetent after such time and
investment in learning English. Similarly, English teachers with considerable teaching experience in Song (2016) felt their
competence in English to be inadequate in comparison to that of their returnee students, which negatively affected their
identity as English teachers. These studies illuminate how ESA exacerbates class struggle by valorizing children's competence
in English and the associated global, neoliberal personhood.
In the overseas Korean communities, the over-emphasis on children's English learning by a growing number of ESA
families is seen as selfish, materialistic, and even immoral by long-term immigrants and other Korean families overseas (Song,
2010). Many non-ESA families distance themselves from the ‘materialistic rich’, distinguishing their practices from those of
ESA families. For example, two graduate families in the U.S. in Song (2012a) portrayed themselves as intellectual elites and
emphasized their ‘distinction’ from other ESA families, by investing in alternative forms of capital such as Chinese and a
pragmatic knowledge of English. However, their practices ended up pursuing the same linguistic capital, competence in
English, due to their desire to secure valuable capital for their children's future. Their practices manifest how ESA extends
class struggle among Korean families into a transnational space (Kang & Abelmann, 2011; Song, 2012a). By contrast, ESA
adolescents in Canada distanced themselves from local Korean immigrants, presenting themselves as wealthy, modern, and
cosmopolitan ‘cools’ (Shin, 2012). These studies demonstrate how ESA as a transnational strategy adopted by wealthy Koreans
affects Koreans' practices and subjectivities at the intersection of class and language in transnational space.
Studies of ESA families overseas also illustrate how those families during their study abroad aligned themselves with the
neoliberal ideology popular in Korea. That is, ESA families in various locations orchestrated their practices based on their
 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88 83

future trajectories (Kang, 2012; Park & Bae, 2015). For example, Kang and Abelmann (2011) demonstrated popular Korean
media discourse on ESA children's future trajectory: ‘the combination of 1e2 years of ESA in elementary school, elite private
high school in South Korea, followed by attendance at an elite America university’ (p. 101) is the ideal path that elite parents
adopt. In this sense, ESA is not an isolated transnational practice, but rather part of a well-planned long-term project for
English education. Park and Bae (2015) also examined how Korean educational ideologies affect ESA families' school choice
during their study abroad in Singapore between local, government schools and private, international schools. Families' de-
cision depended on their primary goal of ESA and the definition of success in each family: families chose local, government
schools for ‘the disciplined elite whose competence is demonstrated through achievements in the academic arena’, and
international schools for ‘the global cosmopolitan whose capabilities are indexed through command of globally recognized
forms of English’ (p. 85). Many families in the study prioritized their children's development of a sense of discipline, ‘a focused
and resolved character capable of competing successfully within a rigorous and stratified educational regime’ (p. 91), which is
highly valued in Korea's specific educational context.
Previous studies have addressed how Korean ESA as a transnational strategy used by wealthy families to acquire English
reflects and deepens inequality (Block, 2014; Park, 2010, 2011, 2013). However, there has been little discussion of post-ESA
practices and their effect on children's educational trajectories and families' class-related positioning. This study focuses
on this aspect of ESA, relating two families' overseas practices to their post-ESA experiences in Korea. Focusing on the two
graduate student families in Song (2012a) in their class positioning against wealthy ESA families from Gangnam, it discusses
how a neoliberal ideology continues and intensifies their struggle to secure their social position against upper/middle-class
families. The effort to ‘manage’ children's competence in English and accrue its capital value after ESA illustrates the intricate
relation of both to social class.

3. Methodology

This study is based on two Korean families whose children acquired English through their study abroad. Both the families
had been in the U.S. sometime between 2001 and 2009, and both participated in an ethnographic study between 2004 and
2006 (See Song, 2012a). The parents' graduate study at a US university was the official goal of the families' study abroad. Both
families had a 5-year-old boy, Sunjae and Joonho, as of 2004/2005, and both turned 16 years old as of 2016. Sunjae's family
came to the U.S. for the father's graduate study in 2001, and Sunjae spent 7 years in the U.S. until the family returned to Korea
in 2008 when he was 9 years old. Joonho's mother started her graduate study at a U.S. university in 2001, while Joonho and his
father stayed in Korea until 2004 when Joonho joined his mother in the U.S. They stayed in the U.S. until 2009 when the
mother completed her study and returned to Korea. Focusing on the language education policies and practices surrounding
these two boys in relation to language ideologies, identity, and class, Song (2012a) found out that these families distanced
themselves from the ‘materialistic rich’ (i.e. the economically superior) ESA families by seeking to secure their class position
as educational elites while they pursued the same capital (their children's acquisition of English) as ESA families during their
study abroad.
The two families have remained in contact with me, and I interviewed each mother three times (in 2011, 2014, and 2016)
on their children's educational trajectories. Table 1 shows the data and topics covered in each interview.
All the interviewers were conducted in Korean, transcribed, and translated for data analysis. The interview data were
analyzed based on how the two mothers understood their own experiences through the telling and re-telling process during
the interviews (Ochs & Capps, 1996). Additionally, my understanding of and interaction with the participants over time
allowed me to apply an analytical perspective based on the framework of active interviewing (Holstein & Gubrium, 2003),
highlighting how the meanings were constructed in a situational context and how participants mediated their knowledge
and realities during the process. These approaches to the interview data elicited participants’ own perspectives and enabled
me to maintain an analytical standpoint toward their perspectives.

4. Findings and discussion

4.1. English in Children's educational trajectories after study abroad

Both families maintained and developed the children's English competence in a similar way. In general, a clear path has
been established among Korean families who are affluent and invest in their children's English education as a way to

Table 1
Interview data and topics discussed.

Date Topics discussed Sunjae's Mother Joonho's Mother

July children's English competence, after-school English programs, English grades at school, 70 min 60 min
2011 children's adjustment and interaction at school
June children's English competence, after-school programs, plans for children's English 45 min 60 min
2014 development, expected role of English in children's education
December 2016 relationship between children's English competence and future trajectories, college 65 min 60 min
choice, family's class positioning
84 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88

reproduce their class privilegedESA/English kindergarten in Korea, an elite afterschool English institute, a grammar-focused
English institute, a prestigious special high school, and then a university overseas (Kang & Abelmann, 2011). Thus, the
desirable and ideal trajectory for those ESA families is their children's ‘real’ study abroad when they are older. This ‘common’
goal or path among the families implies the existence of a community in which ESA becomes a shared strategy for its
membership that shares ‘life trajectories and dispositions’ (Block, 2012, p. 80). In this regard, children's competence in English
becomes an essential component of class-bound cultural capital, and ESA families' economic privilege plays a key role in
amassing the capital. The two families in this study shared similar strategies with other ESA families while their geographic
boundaries and economic cost associated with the strategies were distant from the ESA families.
After spending 7 years in the U.S., Sunjae's family returned to the Gangbuk (north of the Han river), which is far less
socially and economically privileged than Gangnam (south of the Han river). Sunjae joined 3rd grade in elementary school
close to where the family settled. He attended Billy (pseudonym), an after-school English institute, from 2008 to 2011 when
he completed the program. Billy is famous for its English kindergarten and curriculum for younger children who have study
abroad experiences or who had previously attended English kindergarten. Sunjae attended a returnee class at the highest
level. The mother reported that this institute was the only available institute that would fit Sunjae's background in the region
and did not consider other institutes in Gangnam, with its famous elite institutes, because of the long commute and different
atmosphere between those two regions. Sunjae's mother was aware of other elite institutes, such as ‘Big 3’ in Gangnam, the
most famous, prestigious three after-school English institutes located in the heart of the Gangnam region, which provide
English lessons mostly by native English speakers based on the curriculum that is closely aligned with American schools.
Those English institutes including Billy that Sunjae attended are designed specifically for returnees or other children with a
good command of English and children need to take a placement test, which includes a written test and an interview in
English. Therefore, children who pass their tests and are admitted to any of these prestigious after-school programs are
considered to possess exceptional English skills. Those programs offer a designated class for returnees, but it is often filled
with Korean students who in fact studied English in Korea by completing a three-year English kindergarten, the cost of which
is as high as that of study abroad. However, students need to move to a different program at upper grade in elementary or in
middle school, because these institutes offer classes for younger children, emphasizing their development of general
communicative competence in English through a close alignment with the American curriculum. In order to be successful in
Korean education system, children need to develop ‘general’ (communicative) competence in English as well as grammar and
structural knowledge and relevant strategies to have good English grades on the tests at school (Song, 2016).
However, the mother reported that Sunjae's highest grades at school were in English. He did not attend an English institute
after 2011. The mother described his English as good, so he could focus on other subject areas in middle and high school,
which she believed was one of the benefits of study abroaddto save time for other subject areas. This decision to focus on
other subject areas was also relevant to the family's future plan. The family went to the U.S. again in 2014 to spend the father's
sabbatical year at the same university where he completed his graduate studies. Sunjae attended one semester of 9th grade
and the beginning of 10th grade. The mother described that Sunjae became increasingly confident about his English skills
during this period as he was able to participate in the classroom and community with easy. In this sense, the mother believed
that his second study abroad was an emblematic for his ‘real’ competence in English that was functional in an academic and
authentic setting. Sunjae needed to return to Korea after spending 7 months in the U.S. to apply to a foreign language high
school, one of the prestigious special high schools in Korea. His mother felt that, while Sunjae's failure to be admitted to that
school was due in part to his absence from the Korean school system during the final year of middle school, the better GPAs
earned at a regular high school would eventually serve his entrance into a prestigious college, which was the family's po-
tential goal for Sunjae.
I felt upset when he failed to get the admission to the high school as he was well prepared for that. But later I realized
that not attending the school may serve him better because good GPAs from a regular high school may be advantageous
in getting an admission from the top universities. (Sunjae's Mother: SM)
The mother assessed that the effect of his study abroad experiences went behind promoting Sunjae's confidence and aca-
demic skills in English as the cultural capital of study abroad would provide him with a better educational opportunity, paving
a path for future opportunities greater than what they could afford in Korea. In 2017, Sunjae will be in the 12th grade, pre-
paring his college entrance application, and the family is considering a special admission procedure called ‘Global Human
Resources,’ the best chance for him to enter an elite university through his advanced English skills and other credentials.
Joonho was 10 years old when the family returned to Korea in 2009. The family first settled on the outskirt of Seoul near
Gangbuk until 2013 and then moved to a southern city. Joonho began 4th grade in elementary school close to where they
lived. The mother wanted Joonho to attend a returnee class at another school, but it was too late to apply. Joonho attended a
returnee class at Billy for one and half years. The mother reported that he liked the program at the beginning, but not so much
during his second year due to the growing gap between his actual English skills and the level of curriculum. When he became
an 8th grader, he went to another English institute that focused on grammar for high school English curriculum and as-
sessments. This shift is a common strategy for ESA familiesda shift from investing in the development of communicative
competence during children's elementary school years to prioritizing their grammar knowledge during middle and high
school years for a college entrance (Kang & Abelmann, 2011). His mother described Joonho's English at school as good, earning
him either 1st or 2nd rank. However, she described that his poor knowledge of grammar damaged his high school English
grades and thus his GPAs. The mother also reported that English was his favorite subject because he was confident in English,
 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88 85

but he continued to have difficulty in other subject areas due to the initial gap when he first joined the Korean school in 2009.
In 2017, Joonho will be a 12th grader at a regular high school, and the family is considering a regular admission procedure for
his college entrance.
Additionally, Joonho had difficulty adjusting to the Korean school system, mostly due to his relationship with his peers.
The mother explained that he was considered ‘jjin-tta’ (찐따, a real outcast) among his peers due to his accented Korean and
often culturally inappropriate classroom behaviors such as presenting his teachers with questions that, from his peers'
perspective, were ‘silly’. When Joonho had difficulty getting along with his peers at school, the mother intervened by
demonstrating who they were and what they did in the U.S., which the mother believed helped the children understand
Joonho better. The mother handpicked a few significant artifacts of their study abroad, including her degree from a U.S.
university and his photos of playing football and participating in American events. She reported that the presentation of those
artifacts improved things at school for him. Joonho's mother recognized his English competence as valuable cultural capital in
Korean society. However, she reckoned that the role of English in his educational trajectories would largely depend on other
personal and situational factors and did not expect that his competence in English itself would just create a brand-new
opportunity for him.
The role of English in his life will ultimately depend on what he does. His English skills will not just create a brand-new
opportunity for him. When I look around, there are so many people who have a great command in English now. A long
time ago when we were young, English itself made things different. But I don't think that it would now. (Joonho's
Mother: JM)
She pointed out the increasing number of good English speakers among upper/middle class families through ESA and other
quality programs, which she believed has lowered the overall cultural capital of Joonho's English competence. She
attributed the deteriorated value of Joonho's competence to their class background which will be discussed further in the
next section.

4.2. “English just is not enough!”: two mothers’ class positioning and views of cultural capital

The views of the two mothers in this section reflect the intricate relationship between class and children's English skills as
synergetic components of the cultural capital in Korean society. The ultimate goal of Korean families' excessive investment in
English through ESA and elite afterschool English programs in Korea is reportedly to give children an option for their future.
Most families who send their children to expensive English institutes or ESA aim for admission to a prestigious special high
school followed by admission to a university in the U.S. (Kang & Abelmann, 2011). While the two mothers shared this
common goal with other ESA families, especially those affluent Gangnam families, they found it difficult to achieve the goal
due to their class background. The mothers' class positioning in relation to children's English competence points out their
view of class in the unequal distribution and return of cultural capital. The gap that Joonho's mother perceived between her
family and the families in Gangnam was well presented in the following response.
I never thought about sending Joonho to such a well-known English program in Gangnam. First of all, it is too far from
where we live. Most of the students in those programs reside there. To be effective, you need to live in the area, which
will be too expensive for us. Also, many students in those programs got used to the specific atmosphere and curriculum
of the programs through their early and long attendance at the system. Many students at those programs are not
considered returnees in a traditional way, but have a very good command of English through intensive English edu-
cation and immersion in English at English kindergarten. They often travel to English speaking countries or participate
in special camps during school breaks. In this way, they do not lose the competitiveness at a Korean school and at the
same time, have a good command of English. Ultimately, this whole English business is their own league. (JM)
In addition to the practical issues such as the distance and the cost, the mother pointed out the gap in the overall educational
trajectories between themselves and Gangnam families. According to her, those Korean families in Gangnam who are
considered ‘domestic’ also have frequent ‘travel-like exposure or experience’ (Kang & Abelmann, 2011). This is a clear sign of
class superiority in her view, due to the fact that such an experience involves flexibility in working schedules and financial
arrangements. She labeled such a practice of children's English learning by Gangnam families as ‘their own league’, pointing
out their class advantage in acquiring the significant capital. This view implies that English skills do not encompass the social
economic gap. That is, while Joonho had a linguistic advantage in acquiring good English skills through their ESA, she felt that
her family was as not privileged as the families whose children were at those English institutes.
In the next excerpt, Joonho's mother discussed how the common capital by Gangnam families, which is hard to access
elsewhere, distinguishes them from other Korean families.
When it comes to Gangnam or those elite English afterschool institutes, it seems that there are so many ESA returnees
and kids with good English. It may almost be like a common language among those kids. While the number of good
English speakers in Korea has grown, it is still scarce when you look at all of Korea. To have good English is a privilege
that not many average Koreans can access. Thus, the social pressure or a policy that makes good English a requirement
for education and job markets benefits kids from the region. Good English, commonly shared among the kids in the
region, is still regarded as valuable capital that is hard to access anywhere else. (JM)
86 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88

She states that due to the middle/upper class Korean families’ immense investment, careful planning, and various resources
for English learning, good English, especially among children is associated with their class background. By doing so, she points
out the inequality surrounding English educationdemphasizing that English skills favor upper/middle class families, who are
better equipped with necessary resources and support.
In the next excerpt, Sunjae's mother also pointed out how difficult it is for average Koreans to access the linguistic capital.
I am often envious of Sunjae's English. As a Korean, I understand how hard it is to gain good English. Inho (Sunjae's
younger brother), for example, failed to pass the test to enter Billy although he was born and raised in the U.S. until 5.
Without any significant event such as going to study abroad or attending exorbitant English programs and having
endless private tutoring, you can only learn English little by little, failing to leap out of the loop. (SM)
Taking her son, Inho, as an example, the mother here confirmed the significant role of class in English learning in Korea.
Sunjae's younger brother, Inho, who was born in the U.S. and was 5 years old when the family returned to Korea in 2009, failed
to be admitted to Billy. During the family's second study abroad, he attended 4th and 5th grades in the U.S. for one year in
2014 and returned to a Korean school as a 5th grader. He took another placement test at the same institute and was able to
obtain admission in 2015. Inho attended the institute for 2 years until he completed the program. The contrast between
‘average Koreans’ and those who can afford study abroad, elite English institutes, and private tutoring manifests how English
indexes class, and how class mediates English learning. Ironically, while critical toward inequality involving English educa-
tion, the mother is relieved and even content that the family has successfully secured the valuable capital for their children.
When it comes to our children's English skills, people may consider our family to be privileged since not many families
can afford to learn English in the way our children did. I think that their English will be one of the greatest capital for
their lives, and I feel relief that we were able to provide our children with this valuable asset regardless of English
learning being the purpose of our living abroad. (SM)
Here, Sunjae's mother considered his command of English the greatest capital. Nonetheless, while the mother realized that
such capital is an essential means for success, good English alone is insufficient.
The time when good English means everything is gone. English is part of more like a life style. English is essential to be
successful, but it does not provide advantage by itself as it used to. Good English seems to come in a package with other
merits, and when it does, it becomes a real plus. While it is difficult to acquire good English, it is even harder to be good
in various areas, including not only academic stuff, but also extracurricular stuff such as sports, music, leadership,
volunteering, and afterschool club activities. I think that this makes the competition even harder for people like us.
(SM)
The mother's description of English as ‘a life style’ echoes Korean mothers' views presented in Lee (2015) that emphasize
English as one of the criteria for membership in the Gangnam middle class community. Sunjae's mother here viewed English
as part of a package that is key for success and possibly for the global, cosmopolitan membership for which ESA families long.
This means that children's success depends on English and other skills that require the constant support, management, and
resources of their families.
This perspective was shared by both the mothers. As Joonho's mother remarked, ‘The number of good English speakers has
grown so much recently, and good English becomes just one of the many qualifications.’ Therefore, she observed, the power of
English to direct Joonho's career depends in large part on his other qualities, one of the most significant factors of which is
class background.
When you go to Gangnam, there are so many kids who have great English skills and good skills in many other areas. It is
getting harder for children from lower class to be competitive in this context, even with good English skills. (JM)
Joonho's mother agreed that his current English skills are not key for making a significant change. That is, English alone
cannot mediate success because many Koreans have come to exhibit a good command of English through ESA or various
domestic programs. She suggested that Gangnam children with their socioeconomic merits have several advantages over
children in other regions with the same English skills. English competence constitutes a comparative neoliberal subject (Park
& Lo, 2012), but its capital value depends on other necessary elements on which one's class has a significant effect. In this
regard, from these mothers' perspectives, class mediates not only the distribution of the capital, but also its returning value.
Sunjae’s mother observed how the neoliberal educational market operated to serve middle/upper class Koreans.
In conclusion, all these changes and policies over the college entrance admission is strictly for students from upper
class Korean families to get easy admission to elite universities. The changes include an absolute grading system shifted
from a system based on a curve, diversified college admission times and types, and the admission system that requires
excellence in various areas including afterschool activities with which most Korean parents couldn't keep up. Addi-
tionally, the weight of English in special admission is getting heavier. Thus, students from families with a better
economic status certainly have an advantage. The chance for students who are just smart and self-disciplined going to
an elite university is getting slimmer. (SM)
The mother's statement manifests her awareness that the current educational system serves to reproduce and maintain the
status quo, and that English plays a significant role in such an operation. She described difficulties and limitations that she
 J. Song / System 73 (2018) 80e88 87

experienced from the lack of resources and information during Sunjae's college applications. To her disappointment, Sunjae's
good command of English was not as helpful as she hoped it would be for his college entrance because of the powerful
resources wielded by Gangnam middle/upper class families. Realizing the effect of children's class background in college
admission and further academic and career success, she stated, ‘English just is not enough! English is just a start, and its
outcome depends significantly on families’ socioeconomic background.’ This statement is emblematic of the role of class in
the unequal distribution of English and its uneven value in a Korean educational market.
The interviews of the two mothers reveal complex attitudes toward linguistic and class ideologies surrounding English
education that deepen the ‘English divide’ and class struggle in Korean society. In spite of their awareness of social inequality
in English education, they themselves desired to secure the linguistic capital for their children in a Korean educational
context, which is guided in large measure by neoliberal ideologies. While the two families successfully secured their chil-
dren's good command of English through study abroad, they felt that they were deprived of the privilege associated with the
capital due to the large number of good English speakers with better means and resources. Managing and augmenting the
value of the capital after ESA became their major concern and positioned them again in a disadvantageous position against
the middle/upper class ESA families. That is, they found themselves in the same struggle against the economically privileged
that they encountered during their study abroad (Song, 2012a)dstriving against the economically superior in securing the
linguistic capital during ESA and in increasing the return of the capital after ESA. In this regard, the unequal relation between
class and English circulates among Korean families both overseas and within Korea, in acquiring and accruing the capital,
through the neoliberal ideology that valorizes English across social and educational contexts, compelling Koreans to pursue
English at any cost.

5. Conclusion

This study has examined two Korean families' post-ESA experiences in terms of the role of English in the children's
educational trajectories and the family's class positioning. Both the mothers in the study were content with their children's
English skills, which became noticeable (Joonho) and distinctive (Sunjae) in the Korean educational context. Joonho's mother
considered that English would play a potentially significant role in his future depending on the specific career path that he
would take. Sunjae's mother while fully appreciating and utilizing his good English for high school and college admissions,
recognized its limited potential as an increasing number of good English speakers are largely coming from families with a
better economic status. Both mothers also recognized that Korean society and its various educational policies had perpet-
uated the idea that acquiring English is everybody's business, which resulted in an increasingly competitive educational
market, in which ‘English just is not enough’. That is, English becomes necessary for entering elite high schools and uni-
versities, but not sufficient; being competitive now means excellence in English as well as access to class-specific resources
and merits. Thus, the two mothers perceived that the linguistic capital that the children acquired through ESA and its
associated privilege was limited by the local competition with Gangnam families.
The results of this study demonstrate how English mediates and indexes class background (Block, 2014; Park, 2010, 2011,
2013) e how families with class superiority make maximum use of transnational and domestic resources for their children's
English acquisition and how the value of competence is synergistic with other individual merits that are highly dependent on
one's economic background. In this regard, class is relevant to the quality and quantity of resources for English acquisition, but
also to the return of capital that comes from ESA and English acquisition. That is, class works to mediate the unequal dis-
tribution and the uneven return of the capital. Addressing the relation between English learning and class among young
children and their families, an area long absent in the research of applied linguistic (Block, 2014), the study urges researchers
and educators to pay a critical attention to questions of social inequality in English education and calls for further research
across sociocultural contexts on how children's English competence works to reproduce and deepen the social inequality over
time.

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