Busan Seogok Elementary School Merged into Geumsa Elementary School

Since March 2022... Over Half of Parents Agree in Survey

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Seogok Elementary School in Geumjeong-gu, Busan will be integrated into Geumsa Elementary School.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 28th that after conducting a parent opinion survey, Seogok Elementary School and Geumsa Elementary School will be integrated on March 1, 2022.

This integration was decided to guarantee students' right to learn, improve educational conditions, and strengthen educational competitiveness due to the sharp decline in the school-age population following the decrease in companies in the Hoedong-Geumsa Industrial Complex area of Geumjeong-gu, Busan since the 1990s.

The Dongnae Office of Education is promoting the school integration after consultations with related parties and parent briefings, as the number of students at Seogok Elementary School decreased from 254 in the 2010 academic year to 102 currently, dropping to less than half in about ten years.

According to the parent survey conducted from July 22 to 24 (102 respondents), with a response rate of 97.1%, the integration was decided with a majority approval rate of 54.9%.

The Metropolitan Office of Education plans to actively support various educational activities such as field trips and after-school programs for students after the integration. The Seogok Elementary School site will be utilized as an education-related facility.

Following the integration of Hoedong Elementary School into Geumsa Elementary School on March 1, 2018, the integration of Seogok Elementary School into Geumsa Elementary School on March 1, 2022, will be the first case in Busan to integrate three small schools within the urban area to foster appropriately sized schools.

Hong Sun-ok, Superintendent of Dongnae Office of Education, said, “We will faithfully implement the support measures agreed upon with various stakeholders during the school integration process and seek various ways to enhance educational competitiveness and improve educational conditions in the Hoedong, Seodong, and Geumsa-dong areas.”

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