Four out of 10 South Korean college students had tutorial lessons to raise their chances in landing a job after graduation, a survey showed.

According to the poll conducted by local job portals JobKorea and Albamon, 38.2 percent of 1,080 students in their third and fourth year at four-year universities said they have sought help from private education to gain competitiveness in finding work over the past year. They spent 2.08 million won ($1,747.3) on average over the period.

In a similar poll taken three years ago, about 18 percent of undergraduate students said they had cramming lessons or hired private consultants to boost their chances of employment and spent 2.23 million won on average.

More female students, 39.9 percent, have resorted to private education than their male counterparts who showed a 36.1 percent response rate. About 47.4 percent of students studying economy and business have an experience of receiving private education, followed by those studying social sciences with 44.5 percent, liberal arts 41.2 percent and science and engineering 33.8 percent.

About half of the respondents, 49.4 percent, said they relied on private education to get help in receiving job-related certifications or licenses, while 30.5 percent said for consulting on resume and cover letter and 24.9 percent for English tests.

Among those that have not taken any private education, 64.5 percent said they couldn’t afford it and 33.3 percent said they doubted its effectiveness.

By Lim Hyung-joon and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]