Student numbers plunge: Empty Seoul classrooms get public facility makeover
Due to a sharp decrease in the number of students, elementary and middle schools in Seoul are changing their empty classrooms into something that not only students but the public can also use for recreational activities. / Korea Times file
By Chyung Eun-ju
Elementary schools in Seoul are undergoing major reconstruction to turn their empty classrooms into public facilities following a steep decrease in enrollments.
Student numbers at over 860 of 985 elementary and middle schools decreased or were unchanged this year compared with last year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. There was a fall of 38,348 students in the city in the year.
“These days when school principals gather, we share ideas about how to make good use of empty classrooms,” said Kim Kyung-mi, the principal of Heungin Elementary School in Jung-gu, central Seoul. “How to use free classrooms has become an issue among elementary schools because of the decreasing number of students.”
The school will turn its empty classrooms into virtual reality (VR) sports classrooms from next month using a 72 million won ($63,000) budget.
The education office in Seongdong-gu is turning its annexed building of Dongmyeong Elementary School into the city’s second Seoul Creativity and Character Education Center. Residents and students can use the facility for culture, arts and creativity programs.
Nokwon Elementary School in Eunpyeong-gu will make its library and assembly hall accessible to outsiders after classes, a Eunpyeong-gu Office official said.
Songcheon Elementary School in Gangbuk-gu had 540 students graduate in 1996 but only around 100 graduated this year.
“Back then there was a shortage of classrooms, so we had double-shift classes,” a school graduate, now 55, said. The school is incorporating a kindergarten into its assembly hall.