To have as diverse experiences as possible, is a common dream we have long thought about as high school students. However, as we become adults and university students, things are quite different from what we expected. As an adult, to explore more than just school and the subjects society expects you to learn, like English, you need to do so at your own expense a reality you may not even be able to afford. Even though thinking about your dream hobbies gives you a lot of energy and your desire is to enjoy them while you are young, it is easy to feel that the only experiences you will ever have are expensive costs and a limited time to live out your dreams. Therefore, the Dankook Herald (DKH) would like to introduce a new platform launched from the private education system that has been making waves recently.  It’s called the ‘Talent Sharing Platform’.

 Through this medium, anyone who has a unique talent can register themselves as a tutor and get paid by hosting lectures, which available to anyone interested in attending. The platform has achieved massive success. According to Soomgo, a company with a similar platform, they have over 110,000 registered tutors and the accumulated revenue thus far has reached over 20 billion won. Moreover, Tal-ing, another talent sharing company, revealed in an interview with the DKH that their current monthly turnover is more than 300 million won. This is arguably proof that the desire of our youth, to learn diverse content, has been growing. 

▲ You can get varied lessons on diverse areas through taling platform. (picture presented by taling)

 1)Tal-ing: literally translates into escape being a loser. 

 According to our interview with the staff in Tal-ing, they are trying to offers diverse classes, including one-day sessions, with affordable prices, so that even university students can afford to take part. Currently the most popular class is about make-up. Usually people go to a make-up shop to learn how to apply products properly and this might cost 3~5 times more on average than classes offered by Tal-ing. Moreover, they are trying to expand their customer base by networking with student unions in universities and target advertisements mostly to post-secondary students. The staff stated that it was very difficult for university students to learn professional knowledge from just school clubs and it’s difficult for them to learn from private institutes in an affordable way, which is the strength of Tal-ing’s services. 

▲ The official website of the Soomgo. (picture presented by Soomgo)

2)Soomgo: literally translates into hidden masters. 

 Through this talent sharing platform, students can take classes on a wide variety of topics, such as magic, wedding planning, moving in and out, hand embroidery, concerts, music, consultation on laws and so forth. What makes Soomgo different from other platforms is that they systemically find relevant people, who are recognized masters in the subject area to run the classes. Moreover, people who have talents in diverse areas can easily register as a master and share their skills with people for payments. Furthermore, since networking between masters and learners can be done through the mobile application, participants can check the price easily.

 It is fair to say that South Korea is famous for supporting extra-curricular studies through numerous kinds of private educational institutes. And this practice has been the source of a lot of controversy because of the stress it places on the learners in society.  The current educational environment forces university students to study specific subjects, like English, in order to get a good job or get into a better university. In other words, the current system has forced students to study things that they might not want to study and much worse yet, spend all their time and money on it. The launch and success of this new educational platform, the public’s interest and the program’s success, has meant this new teaching and learning format, will help customers and companies satisfy personal development needs. The DKH recommends Dankookians (students of Dankook University) give them a try and get to experience what they have always been dreaming of, in an affordable fashion.