Schooling in Korea (SiK) is a student-run organization serving students of foreign backgrounds in Korea who attend local Korean schools. We began by creating our website with academic videos and free information on schooling and activities in 2018, and began a tutoring program in the fall of 2020. We originally started tutoring with 12 students and 7 tutors, and have grown to teach over 100 students with 17 tutors over four semesters.

Compared to many Western countries, Korea is largely ethnically homogeneous. Korean schools do not offer a system to help transition students from overseas environments as ESL classes in American schools do. International moving is already difficult for teens and young students, and the lack of support system at schools can make the transition of these students even more difficult.

At SiK, we offer free bilingual tutoring to help students gain a clearer understanding of academic material that is otherwise only taught in Korean at school. Our tutors have been teaching in English in Korean so far, and we hope to include other languages in the future as well. Our students range from those whose parents are both foreigners, to ethnic Korean students who spent most of their lives growing up in countries abroad. We also host hangout groups for students to help them find community with others coming from similar situations, as well as one-on-one mentoring support to help students experience a smooth transition to the unfamiliar cultural and educational environment.