hagwon

H4A1G2W4O1N1
/ˈhæɡwɒn//ˈhɑɡwɒn/

noun

A profit-making private school, common in South Korea.

OriginKorean 학원(學院) →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounhagwon (plural hagwons)

plural hagwons · alternative hakwon

  1. A profit-making private school, common in South Korea.

    Geneho, whose bedroom faces the street, is attending a hagwon, a Korean tutoring program.

    2007 August 12, Fred A. Bernstein, “A House to Grow Into”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Korean학원(學院)
  2. Englishhagwon

Borrowed from Korean 학원(學院) (hagwon).

More words from Korean

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hagwon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagwon

MLA

“hagwon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagwon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hagwon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagwon.

Source: hagwon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.