Second Online School Opening, High Attendance Rate but "I've Already Watched This Video 7 Times" (Summary)

No Outages in the Morning but Some Connection Delays
Ministry of Education: "Adjustment Period Will Be Rough Until Tomorrow"

Must Keep in Mind Improving Class Quality for Future Education
Concerns Over Online Access Chaos on Monday

On the 16th, when nationwide online classes began for high school 1st and 2nd graders, middle school 1st and 2nd graders, and elementary school 4th to 6th graders, a teacher at Yongsan Elementary School in Seoul is conducting an interactive online class. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

"I attended the classes. There are a total of 4 periods, but I watched the video related to school violence 7 times. For the 4th period, the assignment was to write English words about 5 times, which is very simple." (A, 6th grade elementary school student)

On the 16th, 4th to 6th graders in elementary school and 1st and 2nd graders in middle and high school started the second phase of online school opening. Including the 860,000 3rd graders in middle and high school who started school on the 9th and students who used schools as polling stations the day before, about 4 million students participated in remote classes by the afternoon. The Ministry of Education expected the attendance rate to be similar to the first online school opening on the 9th, recording over 90% for most students.

Although the feared 'system crash' did not occur, the learning management systems (LMS) operated by the education authorities, EBS Online Class and e-Hakseupter, experienced login delays and video playback issues for a while. Some communication delays were also reported on platforms like Google, Naver, and Kakao.

e-Hakseupter, mainly used by elementary students, experienced login delays in some education offices starting from 9 a.m., but normalized after 9:30 a.m. For example, in Class 7 of 4th grade at Sindong Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul, only about 10% of students had completed attendance within 10 minutes, but the attendance rate rose to 98% after 30 minutes. EBS Online Class had some video playback delays starting from 9:52 a.m., which normalized around 10:37 a.m.

Combined Maximum Users of EBS and e-Hakseupter Reach 1.33 Million
Actual Users Expected to Reach 4 Million
Attendance Must Be Confirmed Within 7 Days If Connection Delays Occur

The peak number of users on this day was around 9 a.m., with about 664,000 users on e-Hakseupter and about 675,000 on EBS Online Class. The actual number of users is expected to be about three times higher.

The Ministry of Education plans to allow flexible operation of remote classes until tomorrow as a platform stabilization period. This is based on the judgment that connection errors and delays may occur not only on public platforms but also on private platforms. If it is difficult to access the platform designated by the teacher, attendance checks can be done using group chat rooms or text messages, and if connection delays occur, students must complete the class and submit assignments on the same day or within 7 days. Subjects with alternative learning assignments will be guided through the school homepage.

However, concerns about the quality of classes remain. Although it was the first day of school, students were asked to watch videos for a surprisingly short time or given overly simple assignments.

On the 16th, when upper-grade elementary and middle and high school 1st and 2nd graders had their second online school opening, a student using the care classroom at Yongsan Elementary School in Seoul is participating in the online opening ceremony. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

In the case of Ha-mo, a 1st grader at Janghun High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, no separate timetable was announced, so he attended classes without knowing what subjects were for the 2nd to 4th periods. Ha said, "It's called school opening, but I haven't properly seen my friends' faces or even know who my homeroom teacher is, so it doesn't feel real," adding, "Among my friends, many just check attendance and don't properly attend classes."

The Ministry of Education acknowledged some immaturity but emphasized that having too many assignments could actually be problematic. They also urged that even in one-way classes, communication should be facilitated through social network services (SNS) other than the LMS site during class whenever possible. A Ministry of Education official said, "We are structuring one period to include the time to watch content and then assign tasks for self-directed learning," adding, "Since it is the early stage of learning, more consideration is needed when providing videos and assignments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.