How to Apply to Daesung Education (Mainae)

11 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 10 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Daesung Education is one of Korea's oldest and largest private education companies (founded 1965), with deep coverage of Suneung preparation through both physical hagwons and the Daesung MIMAC online video brand.
  • The company operates in Korea's intensely competitive private education industry, competing directly with Megastudy, Etoos, Jongno Hagwon, and EBS for student enrollment and instructor talent.
  • Instructor compensation has an extraordinarily wide range — entry instructors earn ₩40-70M annually, while top 일타 (ilta) celebrity instructors can earn ₩1B-10B+ through video royalties, books, and endorsements.
  • The teaching demonstration (시강) is the single decisive step for all instructor candidates and weights subject mastery and presence above credentials alone.
  • Korean fluency, elite university credentials (SKY/KAIST/POSTECH preferred), and willingness to work hagwon hours (typical 1pm-10pm schedule, Saturdays standard) are baseline expectations for most roles.
  • Korean demographic decline (world's lowest fertility rate) creates a long-term structural headwind for the industry — current hiring intensity reflects a harvest period before the projected 2030s contraction.
  • Edtech and AI roles are a growth area as Daesung MIMAC competes with Megastudy on online video, mobile apps, and AI-driven personalization, opening opportunities for Korean edtech engineers.
  • Sponsorship is rare — Daesung hires almost exclusively Korean nationals or long-term Korea residents with full Korean fluency and cultural fluency.

About Daesung Education (Mainae)

Daesung Education (대성학원, Daesung Hagwon) is one of South Korea's oldest and largest private education companies, founded in 1965 and headquartered in Gangnam-gu, Seoul — the geographic and cultural epicenter of the Korean private education industry. With more than 5,000 full-time employees and thousands of contract instructors (강사), Daesung operates across the full spectrum of Korean test-prep and supplemental education, from physical hagwon classrooms in the Daechi-dong 'hagwon street' to nationwide online video subscriptions through its Daesung MIMAC (대성마이맥) brand. The company's flagship business is preparation for the College Scholastic Ability Test (수능, Suneung) — the annual November university entrance exam that, more than any other single event, shapes the trajectory of Korean students' lives. Daesung serves high school juniors and seniors taking the exam for the first time, as well as a sizable population of 재수생 (jaesusaeng) — students retaking the Suneung after one or more attempts — through dedicated nine-month intensive 재수학원 programs. Specialized tracks for medical school admission (의대 준비반) and elite university preparation are core to Daesung's market positioning, as Korean families weigh hagwon choice heavily by published placement outcomes into Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University (the SKY universities), KAIST, POSTECH, and the country's top medical schools. Daesung competes in a uniquely Korean market. Private education spending (사교육비) consistently ranks among the highest per capita in the world, with Korean families directing extraordinary household resources toward exam preparation. Daesung's primary competitors include Megastudy (메가스터디, KOSDAQ:072870), Etoos Education (이투스), Jongno Hagwon (종로학원), Megastar (메가스터디교육), and the state-run EBS broadcaster's education service. Within this landscape, Daesung MIMAC has built a substantial online video subscription business that competes directly with Megastudy on celebrity instructor rosters, mobile apps, and AI-driven personalization features. The industry is shaped by two structural forces. The first is the rise of the 일타강사 (ilta gangsa, 'top instructor') — celebrity educators in math, Korean language, English, and the sciences whose video royalties, book deals, and brand endorsements can generate annual earnings rivaling top entertainers and athletes. The second is South Korea's demographic crisis: with the world's lowest fertility rate, the long-term student population is contracting sharply, and the 2030s and beyond are widely understood within the industry as a period of structural decline. This shapes hiring intensity and product strategy at every major hagwon, including Daesung.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Submit your application through Daesung's Korean recruitment portal (recruit

    Submit your application through Daesung's Korean recruitment portal (recruit.daesung.co.kr or career.daesung.co.kr) or apply via JobKorea (잡코리아) and Saramin (사람인), which Daesung uses heavily for both instructor and corporate roles.

  2. 2
    Document screening (서류심사): Korean education industry employers weight academic c

    Document screening (서류심사): Korean education industry employers weight academic credentials heavily — expect detailed scrutiny of your university (SKY/KAIST/POSTECH preferred for instructor roles), major, GPA, and any teaching certifications (정교사 자격증).

  3. 3
    First-round interview (1차 면접): typically conducted in Korean with HR and the hir

    First-round interview (1차 면접): typically conducted in Korean with HR and the hiring manager from your target department (instruction, curriculum research, counseling, marketing, or operations).

  4. 4
    Teaching demonstration (시강): for all instructor positions this is the decisive s

    Teaching demonstration (시강): for all instructor positions this is the decisive step — you will prepare and deliver a sample lesson on a Suneung topic in your subject area, evaluated on subject mastery, teaching style, board work, and student engagement. Many candidates fail here regardless of credentials.

  5. 5
    Second-round interview (2차 면접): executive panel interview, often including senio

    Second-round interview (2차 면접): executive panel interview, often including senior 본부장 (division heads) — questions cover your motivation for joining the Korean private education industry, long-term career intent, and willingness to work hagwon hours.

  6. 6
    Personality and aptitude assessment (인성검사): standard Korean corporate personalit

    Personality and aptitude assessment (인성검사): standard Korean corporate personality testing administered online or on-site.

  7. 7
    Reference and background check: Daesung verifies prior hagwon employment history

    Reference and background check: Daesung verifies prior hagwon employment history, particularly for instructor candidates moving from Megastudy, Etoos, or smaller competitors.

  8. 8
    Final offer and contract signing: instructor contracts often include performance

    Final offer and contract signing: instructor contracts often include performance-linked compensation tied to student enrollment numbers, retention, and Suneung outcomes; corporate roles follow standard Korean salary structures.

  9. 9
    Onboarding and orientation: new instructors typically observe senior instructors

    Onboarding and orientation: new instructors typically observe senior instructors for several weeks before being assigned their own classes; curriculum researchers join active mock-exam authoring cycles immediately.

  10. 10
    Total timeline runs four to eight weeks, with instructor hiring concentrated in

    Total timeline runs four to eight weeks, with instructor hiring concentrated in late winter and spring ahead of the academic year and the start of the new 재수 (retaker) cycle in February.

Resume Tips for Daesung Education (Mainae)

recommended

Submit a Korean-language resume (이력서) and cover letter (자기소개서); English-only app

Submit a Korean-language resume (이력서) and cover letter (자기소개서); English-only applications are rarely considered for any role except select edtech engineering positions.

recommended

Lead with your university credentials and major — Korean private education emplo

Lead with your university credentials and major — Korean private education employers expect SKY (Seoul National, Korea University, Yonsei), KAIST, POSTECH, or equivalent elite undergraduate degrees for instructor and curriculum roles, and you should list your university in the top section of your resume.

recommended

For instructor candidates, specify your Suneung subject expertise precisely: 국어

For instructor candidates, specify your Suneung subject expertise precisely: 국어 (Korean language), 수학 가형/나형/미적분/확률과 통계 (math by track), 영어 (English), 사회탐구/과학탐구 (social studies or science by sub-subject), or 제2외국어 (second language).

recommended

Highlight any prior hagwon experience by name — Megastudy, Etoos, Jongno Hagwon,

Highlight any prior hagwon experience by name — Megastudy, Etoos, Jongno Hagwon, Megastar, EBS, or named regional hagwons all carry weight; school-teacher backgrounds (정교사) are valued but require demonstrating a willingness to adapt to hagwon teaching style.

recommended

List Korean Ministry of Education teacher certification (정교사 자격증), TESOL, or sub

List Korean Ministry of Education teacher certification (정교사 자격증), TESOL, or subject-specific certifications explicitly with issuing institution and year.

recommended

Quantify outcomes wherever possible: number of students taught, average score im

Quantify outcomes wherever possible: number of students taught, average score improvement, top-school placement rates, mock exam authoring volume, or online video view counts for prior video lecturers.

recommended

For curriculum research (연구원) roles, emphasize publication of mock exams (모의고사 출

For curriculum research (연구원) roles, emphasize publication of mock exams (모의고사 출제), workbook authorship, Suneung trend analysis, or contributions to question-bank databases.

recommended

For development and edtech roles, call out Korean edtech experience (Riiid, Math

For development and edtech roles, call out Korean edtech experience (Riiid, Mathpresso/QANDA, Smartstudy, Classting), React/React Native, video streaming infrastructure (HLS, AWS MediaConvert), and AWS Korea (Seoul) region experience.

recommended

Include a clear statement of your career intent in the 자기소개서 — Korean employers

Include a clear statement of your career intent in the 자기소개서 — Korean employers value candidates who articulate why they want to enter or stay in the private education industry rather than treating it as a temporary stop.

recommended

Korean phone number, KakaoTalk ID, and a recent professional photograph are stan

Korean phone number, KakaoTalk ID, and a recent professional photograph are standard expectations on Korean resumes for non-engineering roles.

ATS System: Daesung Custom Korean Recruitment Portal (recruit.daesung.co.kr)

Daesung Education uses a custom Korean-language recruitment portal hosted at recruit.daesung.co.kr or career.daesung.co.kr, supplemented by active postings on JobKorea (잡코리아) and Saramin (사람인) — the two dominant Korean job boards. The portal expects Korean-language input throughout, including resume upload, structured profile fields, and the 자기소개서 (self-introduction essay). Common file formats are HWP (한글), PDF, and DOCX. The portal does not use modern Western ATS keyword-matching aggressively; instead, applications are routed to the relevant department for human review, with academic credentials and named prior employers carrying outsized signal weight.

  • Create your application materials in Korean, in HWP or PDF format, with consistent terminology aligned to the job posting (instructor 강사, curriculum researcher 연구원, counselor 상담사, etc.).
  • Mirror the exact subject and role language from the job posting in your resume — for instructor roles, match the 과목 (subject) designation precisely (e.g., 국어 영역, 수학 미적분).
  • Fill every structured field on the portal completely; partially completed Korean applications are commonly screened out at the document review stage.
  • Keep your university, major, GPA, and graduation year prominent and accurate — Korean education employers verify these directly with universities.
  • Include both the 이력서 (resume) and 자기소개서 (self-introduction); skipping the essay is treated as a weak signal regardless of your credentials.
  • If you also apply through JobKorea or Saramin, ensure the version submitted there matches your direct portal submission to avoid version mismatch flags.
  • For instructor candidates, attach a portfolio link to any sample lectures, YouTube tutoring videos, or published study materials to strengthen the document screen.
  • Use a Korean phone number and KakaoTalk ID for contact; international-only contact methods slow scheduling and signal limited Korea presence.

Interview Culture

Interviews at Daesung Education reflect the broader Korean private education industry: respectful, formal, and intensely focused on subject mastery and measurable outcomes.

First-round interviews are conducted in Korean, with structured questions on your motivation for joining Daesung, your view of the Suneung exam landscape, your understanding of the differences between Daesung, Megastudy, Etoos, and Jongno Hagwon, and your willingness to commit to the long evening and weekend hours that define hagwon work. Expect questions about your stamina, your approach to managing student and parent expectations, and how you would handle a class that is underperforming on mock exams. For instructor candidates, the teaching demonstration (시강) is the single most important step in the entire process. You will be assigned a Suneung topic — typically a recent past exam question or a representative chapter — and given preparation time before delivering a 20-to-40-minute live lesson to a panel that may include senior instructors, curriculum directors, and branch managers. You are evaluated on subject mastery, clarity of explanation, board work, pacing, voice and presence, and your ability to anticipate and answer student questions. Many candidates with strong credentials fail at 시강 because hagwon teaching style differs sharply from school teaching: it is faster, more results-oriented, and openly performative. The second-round executive interview tests cultural fit and long-term commitment. Korean private education has high turnover among new instructors, and Daesung leadership values candidates who articulate a multi-year vision for building a student following and contributing to Daesung's reputation against Megastudy and Etoos. For corporate roles, this round emphasizes business judgment, Korean private education industry awareness, and your track record of measurable contributions in prior roles. Throughout, observe Korean business etiquette: punctuality, formal address (using titles and 님), respectful posture, and Korean-language fluency.

What Daesung Education (Mainae) Looks For

  • Korean-language fluency at a native or near-native level for nearly all roles, including business writing in Korean for curriculum, marketing, and counseling positions.
  • Elite Korean university credentials — SKY (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University), KAIST, POSTECH, or equivalent — particularly for instructor and curriculum research roles.
  • Deep, current expertise in a specific Suneung subject area: Korean language (국어), math by track (수학 가/나/미적분/확률과 통계), English (영어), social studies or science sub-subjects (사회탐구/과학탐구), or second languages.
  • Prior experience in the Korean private education industry — at Daesung, Megastudy, Etoos, Jongno Hagwon, Megastar, EBS, or named regional hagwons — with a measurable record of student outcomes.
  • Willingness and stamina to work hagwon hours: typical instructional and branch staff schedules run from early afternoon through 10pm, with Saturdays as standard working days.
  • For instructor candidates, demonstrated teaching presence and subject mastery as evidenced through the 시강 sample lesson, prior video lectures, or YouTube/online teaching content.
  • For curriculum researchers, ability to author Suneung-style mock exam questions, analyze annual exam trends, and produce textbook and workbook content at production scale.
  • For counselors (상담사), strong knowledge of the Korean university admissions landscape, including 정시/수시 (regular and early admissions tracks), department-by-department admission cutoffs, and parent communication skills.
  • For edtech and development roles, Korean edtech industry experience, modern web and mobile stacks (React, React Native, Node, Python), video streaming infrastructure, and increasingly AI/ML personalization.
  • Cultural alignment with the meritocratic, outcome-driven, performance-measured nature of Korean private education — comfort with compensation tied to student enrollment, retention, and Suneung results.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary range for an instructor (강사) at Daesung Education?
Compensation varies enormously by tier and visibility. Entry-level instructors typically earn ₩40-70M (approximately $30-50K USD) annually. Mid-tier instructors with established student followings earn ₩100-200M ($75-150K). Top 일타 (ilta) celebrity instructors at Daesung MIMAC can earn ₩1B-10B+ annually ($750K-7.5M+ USD) through a combination of base salary, performance bonuses tied to student enrollment, video royalties, book sales, and brand endorsements. The very top tier of Korean hagwon instructors are among Korea's highest-paid professionals, but the market is steeply hierarchical and most instructors operate in the entry-to-mid range.
What are typical salaries for non-instructor roles?
Curriculum researchers (연구원) typically earn ₩40-70M entry-level and ₩70-120M at senior levels. Counselors (상담사) earn ₩35-60M entry and ₩60-90M senior. Marketing and operations roles earn ₩40-65M entry and ₩70-120M senior. Development and edtech engineering roles are competitive with the Korean tech market, typically ₩50-90M mid-level and ₩90-150M senior, with senior tech leadership reaching higher.
Do I need to speak Korean to work at Daesung Education?
Yes, fluent Korean is essential for nearly all roles. Instructors must teach in Korean to Korean students preparing for a Korean-language exam. Curriculum researchers author Korean-language mock exams and study materials. Counselors communicate with Korean parents and students. Even most edtech engineering roles require business-level Korean for team collaboration and product work. The only partial exceptions are select English instruction roles, where native English fluency is required alongside conversational Korean.
Does Daesung Education sponsor visas for foreign applicants?
Visa sponsorship is rare at Daesung. The company hires almost exclusively Korean nationals, long-term Korea residents (F-series visas, 영주권), or Korean-Americans and other diaspora candidates with full Korean fluency. Foreign applicants without an existing Korea work visa or strong Korea ties face very long odds outside of specialized native-English instruction tracks, and even those typically require an existing E-2 visa eligibility.
What is the 시강 (teaching demonstration), and how should I prepare?
The 시강 is a live teaching demonstration that all instructor candidates must deliver as part of the hiring process. You are assigned a Suneung topic — usually a past exam question or representative chapter — and given preparation time before teaching a 20-to-40-minute lesson to a panel of senior instructors, curriculum directors, and branch managers. Preparation should include deep review of recent Suneung exam trends in your subject, practice with hagwon-style pacing (faster and more results-oriented than school teaching), strong board work, and rehearsal of clear, structured explanations. Many credentialed candidates fail 시강 because their teaching style is too academic or too slow for hagwon expectations.
How realistic is it to become an 일타 (top tier) instructor?
Reaching ilta status — the celebrity tier earning millions annually through video royalties — is extraordinarily competitive. Korea has thousands of hagwon instructors competing for a few dozen visible top spots in each subject area. The path typically requires elite credentials, a distinctive teaching style, multi-year track record of measurable Suneung outcomes, strong on-camera presence for video lectures, and a degree of luck and timing. Most instructors at Daesung and competitors operate in the entry-to-mid tier; ilta status should be treated as an aspirational long-term outcome rather than a baseline expectation.
How does Daesung compare to Megastudy, Etoos, and Jongno Hagwon as an employer?
Daesung is one of the four major Korean private education brands, alongside Megastudy (the largest by online video market share, KOSDAQ-listed), Etoos (online and physical), and Jongno Hagwon (oldest, strong jaesu and university-prep brand). Daesung is particularly strong in physical Gangnam classrooms, jaesu (retaker) programs, and the Daesung MIMAC online brand. Compensation, hours, and culture are broadly similar across the four; instructor decisions often hinge on subject-area strength, branch location, and the publishing or video production resources offered. EBS, the state broadcaster, has a different model with lower compensation but greater stability.
How is online video education affecting hiring at Daesung?
Daesung MIMAC competes directly with Megastudy and Etoos in the online video subscription market, which has grown substantially since COVID-era acceleration and the smartphone era. This drives hiring in video production, streaming infrastructure, mobile app development, AI-driven personalization (recommendation engines, adaptive practice question selection), and online-native instructor roles. Online instructors face a different career arc than classroom instructors — wider reach but more concentrated competition for top spots.
How will the Korean demographic crisis affect Daesung's hiring long-term?
Korea's fertility rate (~0.7-0.8) is the world's lowest, meaning the future student population is contracting sharply. The 2030s and beyond are widely understood within the industry as a period of structural decline for the hagwon market. The current period is often described as a harvest before that decline — high per-student spending intensity is offsetting falling student counts. Daesung and competitors are responding by investing in online video (which scales beyond a single classroom), international expansion of Korean test-prep methods, and AI-driven product differentiation. Long-term career planning should account for industry consolidation.
What are the working hours like at Daesung Education?
Hagwon working hours are notoriously long and skewed to evenings and weekends. Instructors and branch staff typically work from early afternoon (around 1pm) through 10pm, with Saturdays as standard working days. This reflects student schedules — Korean high school students attend hagwons after their regular school day ends. Curriculum research, marketing, and corporate roles follow more conventional Korean office hours but often include evening and weekend collaboration with instructional staff during peak Suneung preparation cycles.
What is Daechi-dong, and is it where I will work?
Daechi-dong (대치동) is a neighborhood in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and is the symbolic and economic center of the Korean private education industry. It is often called 'hagwon street' because Daesung, Megastudy, Etoos, Jongno Hagwon, Megastar, and countless smaller hagwons cluster there alongside the most ambitious student and parent population in Korea. Daesung has a major presence in Daechi-dong, but also operates branches in Mok-dong and Bundang in the greater Seoul area, and regional branches in Daegu, Busan, Daejeon, and Jeju. Your assigned location depends on the specific role and branch posting.
Do I need to know the Suneung exam in detail to apply?
For instructor and curriculum research roles, yes — deep, current knowledge of the Suneung exam in your subject area is mandatory. You should be able to discuss recent annual exam trends, the structure of 정시/수시 (regular and early admissions), the controversy around 'killer questions' (킬러 문항) following the 2023 Yoon government policy intervention, and the differences between exam tracks (e.g., 수학 미적분 vs 확률과 통계). For counseling roles, similar depth is expected but with greater emphasis on university-by-university and department-by-department admission cutoffs. For corporate, marketing, and engineering roles, general industry awareness is sufficient at the application stage but expected to deepen during onboarding.

Open Positions

Daesung Education (Mainae) currently has 10 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 10 open positions at Daesung Education (Mainae)

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Sources

  1. Daesung Education official website —
  2. Daesung MIMAC online education platform —
  3. Daesung Education recruitment portal —
  4. Korea Ministry of Education — Private Education Expenditure Statistics (사교육비 통계) —
  5. Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) —
  6. KOSIS Korean Statistical Information Service — Education Data —
  7. Megastudy Education investor relations (KOSDAQ:072870) —
  8. EBS Korean Educational Broadcasting System —
  9. JoongAng Ilbo coverage of ilta instructor culture (일타강사 보도) —
  10. Chosun Ilbo coverage of Korean private education industry —
  11. Edu Donga — Korean education industry press —
  12. JobKorea (잡코리아) — Daesung Education company page and reviews —
  13. Saramin (사람인) — Daesung Education postings —
  14. 2023 Yoon administration Suneung 'killer question' policy coverage —
  15. Korea Statistics — fertility rate and demographic outlook —