Four Weeks at HANA Academy in Clark — A Korean Mom's Family Program Review with Two Daughters

We applied for the family program in March, and after the summer break began at the end of July, I came to HANA Academy for four weeks with my two daughters, in 5th and 2nd grade. I had joined a study-abroad community and read a huge number of HANA Academy reviews, and since new ones were rare before we left I was a little worried, but once we arrived those worries turned out to be groundless.

I think there were few reviews because Taiwanese students outnumber everyone else by far. I am leaving this in the hope that it helps, even a little, anyone who comes to HANA Academy later.

We came together with my eldest daughter's friend's family of three. When we booked the flights, fares had gone up because of the war and fuel surcharge issues, so to save even a little we flew Cebu Pacific from Incheon to Manila and then took a van to HANA Academy. The academy booked the van for us; it cost 7,500 pesos for our two families, six people, from Manila to Clark. The trip took about two hours, and the kids slept a bit and recovered along the way, so it was not a bad journey at all.

Daily life

The HANA Academy dormitory that everyone talks about is old but clean, well looked after, and whenever something was inconvenient it was fixed right away. Twice a week they clean and do the laundry, and they even change the bed sheets and pillowcases.

If there was one stress, it was that in the rainy season the laundry does not dry well and came back with a smell, so from the second week I had it returned after the spin cycle only, rinsed it thoroughly in the bathroom, wrung it in the spin dryer, hung it in the room and ran the air conditioner and fan hard to dry it. How lucky we were to at least have a spin dryer! There is a laundromat across from Pure Mart, and some people use that too.

Oh, and our room had almost no ants or bugs, and the Wi-Fi worked well! (They say it is the luck of the draw.)

Our dormitory room

Suitcases, storage rack and fridge

English

My kids had never been to an English academy in Korea and honestly are not good at English. I had taught them phonics and shown them videos, that is all. Our goal in coming here was for them to be able to express themselves confidently in some way, without fear, even when meeting foreigners. It was almost a complete success, haha. They just blurt things out, even in Korean.

The teachers are all cheerful, kind to the children and good at teaching. The kids loved it and could not wait to get to class. After the level test, classes use a book matched to their level, and parents can check the book and have it changed within three days.

For us, the books suited each child perfectly. The program has four 1:1 periods; my eldest added one more for five. Over the four weeks they finished about one book per period, and we added one more book for just one period.

They enjoyed the group classes too and absolutely loved the activity classes. I think the great teachers made it even better. Monday and Thursday were swimming, Tuesday and Friday badminton and board games, and Wednesday was cooking class. It is a pity it rained so much that they could not swim as often. The kids are already clamoring to come back, and insist on three months next time.

1:1 class

Board game activity

Wednesday cooking class

Group class

Food

Every meal is Korean food, and on weekends there is a brunch of just rice, soup and kimchi. The meals are not bad, but they did not quite suit my kids. For breakfast we took only rice and a fried egg back to the room in a container and ate them with seaweed, canned tuna and instant dishes; lunch and dinner we ate in the cafeteria. It was mostly meat dishes, and the spicy stir-fried pork, chicken dishes and curry are tasty.

For picky eaters I recommend bringing as much as your luggage allows from Korea: instant rice, canned tuna, instant curry, hamburger steak, ramyeon and so on. You can buy all of it here too, but it is a bit pricey. I had too much luggage and could only bring a little, so I shopped a lot at Singsing Mart.

For fruit, you order by KakaoTalk on the days they announce as market days, and they deliver free for orders over 1,000 pesos. The fruit was in good condition and tasty. You can also order side dishes, so we ordered things like seaweed and salted squid along with it.

When we craved Korean barbecue we went to King’s Meat. It is like a butcher-shop restaurant: you choose your meat and they grill it and bring it to you. There is a table charge (220 pesos for adults, 110 for children), kimchi stew comes free, and all the side dishes are delicious.

Mang Inasal needs no introduction: chicken inasal is the number-one Filipino dish. Near the academy there are Dunkin’, Jollibee, Chowking, Angel’s Pizza and Boom Chicken. Personally I enjoyed Jollibee’s spicy chicken and the mozzarella pizza at Angel’s Pizza.

Boom Chicken is a Korean-style chicken place through and through! There is always a wait, they give you a free fried egg, and fried chicken with shredded scallion is the truth. When we wanted something spicy, like tteokbokki or chicken feet in broth, it really hit the spot. The kids loved the mild tteokbokki too. The pork cutlet was not for me, but the kimchi stew comes in a huge portion.

Weekend activities

In the first week we did the one-hour horse riding trail at El Kabayo (2,000 pesos per person). The kids absolutely loved it; the horses are big, so they were scared at first but then had a blast. Over hills, across streams, the horses nibbling grass and doing their business along the way… where else would they get an experience like this?

In the second week the whole academy went to Aqua Planet together. They rented a jeepney, so the kids got to ride one, and three teachers came along and rode the four-person slide with the children. Even with the wind and rain lashing down, everyone had a great time.

FlowRider at Aqua Planet

Tube slide at Aqua Planet

Looking back on four weeks

The kids say the four weeks flew by like a single day; they threw themselves into classes and activities alike. With few other Korean kids around, being here with a best friend may have made it even more fun.

The kids want it so badly that we are already planning the next trip, even before going back to Korea. Four weeks really is too short. Only now do I realize you should come for at least six to eight weeks.

Still, I am grateful we can go home safely with no serious illness or injury, and I want to thank the director, the head manager and the managers for all their help.

Night swimming

The campus seen from the cafeteria (we will miss it the moment we leave)

This post is a translation of a parent’s review on a Korean study-abroad community (Naver Cafe). Prices and schedules are as of August 2026 and may change.