Despite the growing importance of shadow education, literature on middle-class parental involvement has focused on the significance of family-school partnerships, and has neglected to examine the influence of parental involvement in terms of shadow education. Drawing on narratives of middle-class Korean mothers, this study explores their strategies and practices for shadow education to provide their children with a meaningful advantage in academic competition. It applies Bourdieu's social capital theory to understand their struggle for high-quality shadow education, and finds a strong impact of networks of mothers for effective interaction with the education marketplace. In this regard, the author suggests a concept of 'market-based parental involvement', which is distinguished from the traditional form of middle-class parental involvement based on family-school partnerships.