By Kim Rahn
Seoul City is searching for an operator of a foreign school to be set up in Gaepo-dong in southern Seoul in September 2013.
The city government made a public notice Sunday to search for foreigners, non-profit foreign organizations or Korean private school organizations to found and administer the tentatively named Gaepo Foreign School.
Business plans should be submitted by Aug. 18 and after evaluations, the city will select two to three to pursue negotiations in October. The final selection will be made in January next year.
“We’ve sent official letters regarding the proposal to 300 foreign schools. Some schools in the U.S., Canada, Britain and Singapore have shown interest, as well as some institutions currently operating here already,” a city official said.
On the 16,078 square meters of school grounds currently stand three buildings roughly three decades old that were used for the Seoul Japanese School. But the city will encourage the selected school operator to build new facilities.
“There are 21 foreign schools in Seoul but 15 are located north of the Han River, so southern Seoul is short of foreign schools with large-sized facilities, high-quality curriculum and talented teachers. We expect the Gaepo school to improve the educational environment for children of expats in southern Seoul,” the official said.
The city will hold a project briefing on June 17 at Haechi Hall of Seoul Global Culture and Tourism Center in Myeongdong, central Seoul. For more information, visit Seoul Global Center’s website global.seoul.go.kr.