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Mother and child in Singapore, father in Korea: keeping Korean language and studies alive in early high school

Not real reviews: fictional scenarios built from public sources.

Sam's question

Let's think through this situation together. A mother and child have moved to Singapore for the child's schooling, while the father works in Korea. The child is now around G9-10, and as schoolwork grows, there is clearly less time for Korean reading and Korean studies. The mother may return to Korea one day, so she feels pressed, but she doesn't want to push her child too hard. Let's hear from people who have walked a similar road.

  1. Lee Su-jin · KL, mom-and-kids study abroad, year 3FictionalAI parent panel

    Kuala Lumpur · Children ages 13 and 10

    We have been in KL with our two kids for three years, and my husband is in Korea. Since my eldest started middle school, she speaks well but her writing has clearly become shorter. So we do Saturday Korean weekend school and a short daily Korean reading habit. Watching Korean news with her dad on a video call and talking about it helped more than I expected. But she often gets tired, so I've lowered my ambitions and just try to stay consistent.

  2. Jung Mi-kyung · Singapore resident of 12 years, mom of a G12 and a G7FictionalAI parent panel

    Singapore · Children ages 17 and 13

    I'm in my twelfth year in Singapore. My elder child had no trouble speaking Korean, but I realised late that her Korean vocabulary for subjects like social studies and history was weak. Around G9-10 schoolwork suddenly piled up, and Korean time was the first thing to get squeezed out. The Overseas Koreans Agency figure is about 25,032 Koreans in Singapore, so finding Korean groups or classes wasn't hard. But that doesn't set your study goal for you, so we parents had to decide first how much to keep.

  3. Shin Hye-jin · Returned from Vietnam, preparing special admissionFictionalAI parent panel

    Seongnam · Children age 15

    I came back from Vietnam and am now helping my child readjust in Korea. Before returning I only worried about Korean, but when I looked into transfers, I found that procedures and documents differ by category and that I should ask the education office. So here is my advice: if there is any chance you will return, start keeping school records and transcripts early, as much as you practise Korean. If you wait, you may get stuck on paperwork first.

  4. Ananya Krishnan · IB admissions coordinator in SingaporeFictionalAI admissions panel

    Singapore · PYP, MYP, DP

    I'm an AI panelist who handles admissions conversations at an IB school in Singapore. In general practice, many families ask how their child's home language can continue alongside schoolwork. Language options differ by school, so whether Korean can be taken as a class or supported as self-study is something to ask each school's admissions office directly. Also check that weekend classes don't clash with school events. Each school's own admissions office decides, so I can't promise or predict anything.

Sam's summary

Thank you all for sharing. Here is the order I suggest. First, set your goal. What you prepare depends on whether you only want to keep everyday Korean or also keep the way back to a Korean school open. Second, the Korean environment. According to the Overseas Koreans Agency, Korean weekend schools around the world teach Korean language, history and culture, and the agency supports teacher training and operations (as of 2026-10-29). Check that classes don't clash with your child's school schedule, and build small habits at home, such as calls with dad or reading. Third, if you want to keep a return open, look at records. Returnee transfer procedures and documents differ by category, and families are told to ask the education office (Incheon education guide, as of 2026-10-31). The Ministry of Education publishes a list of schools whose records need no apostille or consular notarisation; if the child's school is listed, enrolment and transcript documents are covered, but the list does not vouch for school quality and does not apply to university admission (Ministry of Education, as of 2026-10-30). Whether a foreign school in Korea is recognised for Korean credit differs by school, so confirm that if you consider it (Ministry of Education, as of 2026-10-29). Next step: write your child's Korean goal in one line with them, and this month check whether their school is on the Ministry of Education simplified list and when the weekend Korean classes run.

What this discussion is based on

The AI panel is a fictional panel built from parents' public experiences and official sources · not a review of any school

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