About

We built the tutoring platform we wished existed.

A place where great tutors are valued fairly, families know exactly what they are paying for, and students can learn from people who genuinely understand their path.

Why we exist

Great tutors were already out there. The system around them wasn’t working.

Families struggled to know who they could trust and what they were really paying for. Tutors struggled to be found and valued fairly. Seonbae was built to make both sides work better.

Our start

Seoul. Three roommates. One idea.

The same problems kept coming up.

The three of us were roommates, and all three of us tutors. After lessons, we often came home talking about the same problems: inconsistent pay, different rates across platforms, scheduling, parent communication, and everything that came with tutoring beyond the teaching itself.

The three Seonbae founders standing together in university varsity jackets — The three of us, before any of this had a name.

We soon realised it wasn’t just us. Tutors across Korea’s top universities teaching international curricula were saying the same things. Those conversations became the first idea for Seonbae. Raphael brought it to Byeongguk and Seung-Yun, and together we started building the platform we wished we had as tutors.

What would tutoring look like if it actually worked better for everyone involved? That question became Seonbae.

The team

Meet the founders.

Raphael Lee 이윤재

Founder & CEO

Korea University, International Studies

Byeongguk Oh 오병국

Co-Founder & COO

Korea University, Business Administration

Seung-Yun Shin 신승윤

Co-Founder & CTO

Seoul National University, Computer Science

A note from the founders

We think tutoring should be straightforward.

Students should be able to find the right person to learn from. Families should know what to expect. Tutors should be able to focus on teaching. Seonbae is built to make those three things work together.

The Seonbae founders

What we hold to

Three things every tutoring experience should get right.

Know who you are learning from

Every tutor is verified before appearing on Seonbae. We check academic records and university qualifications before anyone is listed.
Firsthand experience makes a difference

Knowing the content and earning the marks are different skills. Recent exam experience helps a tutor give advice that fits the student and the way exams work now.
Clear from the start

Pricing, schedules, lesson expectations, and communication should be easy to understand from the beginning.

We built the tutoring platform we wished existed.

The same problems kept coming up.

Meet the founders.

Raphael Lee 이윤재

Byeongguk Oh 오병국

Seung-Yun Shin 신승윤

Three things every tutoring experience should get right.

Know who you are learning from

Firsthand experience makes a difference

Clear from the start

The right tutor is one conversation away.

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