`English Villages` Helping to Market Provincial Apartments

An English-language village has been up and running since last month on the first floor of a shared residential facility in an apartment complex in Daegu.

A native English speaker accompanied by two Korean teachers teaches one adult, four elementary school and three kindergarten classes weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Children get their own English names and learn conversational English through games, while adults learn writing and practical conversation.

Cho Seon-mi, one of the two Korean teachers, said, “Since this is a rare opportunity to learn from a native English speaker outside of Seoul and the builder is paying for it, residents love this English village.”

More apartment complexes outside of Seoul have built online or offline English villages for residents. Reflecting the rising demand for English education, apartment builders have adopted the idea as a marketing strategy to attract residents with the declining popularity of newly built apartments outside of the capital.

Also riding this boom are companies that specialize in building and running English villages in apartment complexes.

One of them is A4 Education. Company CEO Kim Chang-soo said, “After President Lee [Myung-bak] announced policies to strengthen practical English education, many construction companies asked for consultation on setting up English villages in apartment complexes.”

The World Meridian apartment complex in Daegu also runs an English library. The children of residents between the ages of five and eight can learn English conversation at the library once or twice a week for just 10,000 won per month.

Myungji Queendom II of Busan, an apartment complex whose residents will move in next year, will have a mall with private teaching institutes, restaurants and banks. The construction company will build and run an English village in this mall.

After the first in-complex English village was built in the latter half of 2005, more construction firms have sought to set them up. Around five construction companies run or plan to run English villages in 20 apartment complexes nationwide.

English village companies organize their programs according to the size of the complex and budget when builders commission the work.

In most instances, English villages are built in areas or facilities used by all residents. With a small budget, the villages can take the form of a “cyber English village” where residents practice English in virtual spaces such as post offices, hotels and hospitals, and teachers correct their expressions or pronunciations online.

The English villages, however, have created conflict between builders and residents in certain instances. In one apartment complex in Busan, the construction company terminated its plan for an English village because the number of occupants fell below half.

Hwang Jeong-ho, a manager at the English village company EN Town, said, “When there aren’t enough residents, construction companies sometimes shelf the English village idea, which infuriates some residents.”

Another criticism is the quality of education offered at these English villages. Not only is it difficult for children to enhance their English skills with just two or three hours a week, securing a steady supply of well-trained native English speakers in non-Seoul areas is also challenging.

An industry source presented yet another problem for the English village concept. He said, “Construction firms will pay for the cost of running an English village, which amounts to 100 million won a year, for the first one or two years. After that period, however, residents will find it tough to fund the villages themselves.”

mint4a@donga.com scud2007@donga.com