Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
1 in 6 elementary schools in Seoul to have fewer than 40 students per grade by 2028
An elementary school student walks to school in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Jung Da-hyun
Amid Korea's rapidly declining birthrate, one out of six elementary schools in Seoul is projected to have fewer than 40 students in each grade in four years' time, Seoul's education office said, Thursday.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE), the number of small elementary schools with fewer than 240 students is expected to rise significantly from 69 in 2024 to 101 by 2028, accounting for approximately 16.5 percent of the total elementary schools in the capital.
By 2028, the northern part of the city is anticipated to have the highest number of small schools at 18, followed by the central part with 15 and the southern part with 13.
An official from SMOE said that small schools are more frequent in older parts of the city where the population is aging faster.
While the transformation into small elementary schools does not necessarily imply immediate mergers between schools, challenges are expected to ocur concerning their operation.
With only 240 students per school, each grade is projected to have about 40 students, leading to the operation of only two classes per grade.
This limitation makes planning events such as after-school programs, sports events and field trips challenging due to the lack of students.
The management of school meals may also face difficulties due to the struggle to meet unit prices.
The number of teachers is also expected to decrease as a result of the decreasing number of students. However, administrative work for teachers will remain the same, putting an increased burden on educators.
“As the administrative workload per teacher rises, educators may find themselves compelled to use personal time for class preparation. Otherwise, insufficient preparation may directly impact students through a decline in the quality of education,” said an elementary school teacher surnamed Lee.
Moreover, students may encounter difficulties in forming extensive networks of friends within the class sizes.
Although SMOE emphasizes that declining student numbers do not necessarily mandate school mergers, there is a possibility that school closures or branching out may become more prevalent in the long term.
Seoul has already witnessed the closure of several schools in response to the rapidly declining number of students.
Last year, Seoul Hwayang Elementary School in Gwangjin District was shut down. Three more high schools — Dobong High School in Dobong District, and Ducksoo High School and Sungsu Technical High School in Seongdong District — are all slated for closure on March 1 this year.
SMOE acknowledged the challenges, stating that the decline in the student population and student enrollment in elementary schools are the result of the decreasing birthrate of the nation.
“We are working actively to plan the number of classes and students efficiently for small schools,” said an official from the office.