BUSINESS BITS

Investing in education
Nancy Locsin

In 1995, when Jin-Hun Roh met an illegal Filipino worker at a hospital in Korea, he was so moved by the worker’s plight that he decided to help the Filipino people in whatever he could. The opportunity for doing so came in 2002 when Daekyo, a Korean educational company offered its services overseas and decided to expand its operation in Southeast Asia.

Roh, who was then working as a program provider and marketing manager in Daekyo’s headquarters in Korea, chose the Philippines for this purpose. “There were bigger markets in Southeast Asia but I chose the Philippines because I really wanted to help Filipinos,” he says.

For Roh, education is the way to improve one’s future. With this in mind, he came to the Philippines in 2003 all by himself so study the market. In the course of his research, he not only met Filipino students but also Korean students who were studying here. “The Korean students were having problems with the educational material here,” he recalls. “The Filipino curriculum’s approach to math is more difficult than in other countries. Even in the lower level, they teach too many concepts. In Korea, the approach to math is easier. Until grade three, we study multiplication and division only.”

During the first year and a half, Daekyo operated only for Korean students. Filipino teachers who were taught the Korean teaching styles gave home tutorials to about 300-400 students. After a year in operation, Roh decided to also offer the program to Filipinos. He observed that the local math curriculum requires one to learn too many concepts, with the result that many students could not understand their lessons well enough and end up hating math.

Roh emphasizes the need to understand each student through his or her own perspective. This is the reason why the Daekyo system offers an easier step-by-step approach that instills self-confidence in the students. He explains: “If they are confident and have fun doing math, they will study well. I really want to give this chance to the Filipino students.”

Roh asked Kwang-Hee Kang, a Daekyo marketing team member in Korea, to help him set up the business in the country. Kang joined him in 2004 and is now the general manager of Daekyo Philippines.

In August 2005, the company introduced the E.nopi program to the Filipino market. Developed in Korea in 1976 to hone mathematics and English skills, the after-school supplemental program is based on the principle that students learn at their own pace. As such, they should be taught beginning from their current level of learning, gradually increasing their knowledge. Also, the program proceeds from the belief that teachers are most effective when they understand the individual needs of the students.

Roh makes it clear that the E.nopi program is not designed to replace formal school education; instead, it is meant to reinforce what is being taught in school. Thus, preschooler kids and high school students regularly visit an E.nopi center only once or twice a week. They are given sets of worksheets, each set to be answered each day. The worksheets are designed with pictures and colors to attract kids, thus increasing their motivation and concentration. In addition, the program teaches the children to work and learn independently.

What sets E.nopi apart from its competitors, Roh says, is its focus not only on numerical skills but also on critical thinking and the understanding of practical mathematics applications.

E.nopi through a franchising system, and many of its franchisees offer the program in addition to the existing curriculum of their preschool or learning centers. The monthly fee for each subject is P1,980, and the initial investment for setting up a center ranges from P150,000 to P300,000.

With the increasing market awareness about E.nopi, payback time for franchisees is now around six months to one year, depending on location. To ensure the quality of service in each center, certain qualifications are required of franchisee applicants, including passing an examination given by the company.

As the business grows, Daekyo intends to reduce the tuition fee and provide scholarships to Filipino children as a form of payback to the Filipino people.

“The Philippines helped Korea during the Korean civil war,” Roh explains, “So now our generation in Korea must help the Filipinos. Through E.nopi education, someone from among our students can perhaps become the Philippine president or a congressman. We want to help the Filipinos achieve a bright future.”