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.
3 districts in Seoul to offer after-school programs for multicultural students
gettyimagesbank
By Jung Da-hyun
Starting in May, a new after-school program designed for students in need of extra support, including those from multicultural backgrounds, will be launched in Seoul’s southern districts. This initiative will expand upon an existing one called Neulbom School.
The Seoul Nambu District Office of Education announced on Tuesday that it will launch a tailored after-school program in Yeongdeungpo, Geumcheon and Guro districts — areas with the highest concentration of multicultural students in Seoul. According to the office, 29 percent of the students in these districts come from multicultural backgrounds.
The original Neulbom afterschool program was introduced as part of a nationwide government initiative to combat the country’s low birthrate by easing the child care burden on working parents.
Building on this model, the education office is launching a more specialized program to meet the evolving needs of its student population.
While the existing Neulbom School model offers the same standardized programs to a mixed group of around 20 students with varying backgrounds, the new initiative will take a more targeted approach by addressing the specific needs of individual students.
In particular, it will focus on multicultural students, children in need of mental and emotional care and those requiring additional instruction in the Korean language and basic math, offering small-group, customized learning experiences that go beyond the standard Neulbom model.
The education office developed the program in response to the region’s shifting demographics, aiming to bridge the education gap and provide equal learning opportunities amid the growing population of students from multicultural backgrounds.
With a special grant of 200 million won ($135,880) from the Ministry of Education, awarded in recognition of its exemplary implementation of the Neulbom School program, the new initiative will be offered free of charge.
The program will expand its reach beyond first and second graders to include students across all elementary grade levels, providing a broader range of support.
Furthermore, classes will be held in small groups and feature activities such as picture book reading, along with other programs aimed at supporting the academic, emotional and psychological development of multicultural students.
Given the high proportion of multicultural students in the region, the education office identifies helping these students adapt to school and community life a key educational priority.
Schools in the district are also welcoming the initiative. A principal of an elementary school with a high proportion of multicultural students expressed optimism, saying the program will help ensure equal educational opportunities and foster a more positive school experience for those students.
He added that the tailored support is expected to ease the difficulties multicultural students often face in the regular curriculum due to language barriers.
The education office will begin accepting applications this week from among the district’s 66 public elementary schools interested in implementing the program. Following the selection process next week, the new initiative is set to launch in May.