`It’s much more fun at home. There’s no question about it anymore,` Yoo said.

He was given countless extra assignments to make up for the days he missed class.

Yoo Ju-chan reviews his homework at home.

Still, he didn’t have any complaints.

On February 27, the Japanese government took even stronger steps than South Korea, closing schools across the country until the end of March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In both countries, the Covid-19 epidemic has caused nearly 20 million students to interrupt their studies.

Korea is one of the countries with the most competitive and high-pressure education in the world.

Hwang Hyun-bi usually spends three evening hours at the hagwon every day, studying math, science, English and Chinese.

However, Hwang cannot wait until the epidemic subsides.

`I really don’t like wearing a mask in class,` Hwang said.

I had to cancel plans to celebrate graduation with friends in Hongdae, Seoul, the `entertainment paradise` of Korean youth.

Si-yeon, Hwang Hyun-bi’s 6-year-old sister, doesn’t have as much homework as her sister.

Little girl Hwang Hyun-bi sits and studies at home.

`I want to play outside,` Si-yeon said.

Lee Eun-jin, mother of two girls, said she and other mothers in the neighborhood are worried about the `education gap` created by the epidemic.

They live in Mok-dong, a neighborhood in Seoul known as a `special education district` because of its many hagwon exam preparation centers and good public schools.

`I can call this a happy nuisance. I like to spend time playing with my children at home, but taking care of them 24 hours, without school, without daycare, is a completely different story. If it were

Despite government recommendations to close, two-thirds of the 25,000 hagwons in the South Korean capital are still operating, Cho Hee-yeon, director of the Seoul Department of Education, said yesterday.

Teacher Choi Bo-na, 29, said her school decided to close last week but she thinks they will have to reopen soon to prepare senior students to take the college entrance exam.

Choi is also considering videotaping or streaming her reading and essay writing lessons for students to follow.

Hwang Si-yeon, 6 years old, spends her time at home mainly drawing and reading.

Sun Yul, 4 years old, normally lives with her grandparents in Paju city near the North Korean border.

Son Seung-hee, Sun’s mother, was not as excited as her sister.

On February 26, Yul Sun and her mother drew a large `treasure map` with crayons.

Vu Hoang (According to Washington Post)