The National Education Commission proposed extending dismissal for first and second graders to 3 p.m., aiming to reduce the care gap faced by dual-income families.

Lower primary classes currently end around 1 p.m., with the remaining hours filled variously by care classes, after-school programmes, private academies or family care.

The proposal's core idea is to fill that gap inside the school, so children need not move between locations and care costs fall.

The objections are equally clear. Given how long young children sustain attention, more hours at school do not automatically mean more learning: fill them with play and rest and it is not study; fill them with lessons and it becomes a burden.

Teachers' workloads are also raised. Who covers the extra hours, and how teaching loads and care staff hiring are allocated, will determine whether it works.

For Sinophone families in Korea the issue is especially practical. With many working in small businesses, dismissal times often clash with working hours, and application procedures for after-school programmes can themselves be a barrier for guardians less at ease in Korean.

The proposal is not settled policy. It requires consultation with the education ministry and provincial offices and a budget process, and application may vary with each school's circumstances.