Full Return to School Ends After One Month... School Density Reduced to Two-Thirds

Reduction of Overcrowding in Greater Seoul Area and Large Universities Outside Capital Region by Winter Break
Full In-Person Attendance for Grades 1-2, Up to Two-Thirds Attendance for Middle and High Schools Allowed
Remote Graduation Ceremonies Recommended...Final Exams Should Be Staggered by Grade
Universities to Shift Large Lectures Like Theory Classes Online, Classrooms Must Enforce Distancing

On the morning of the 22nd, when full in-person attendance for elementary, middle, and high schools was implemented, students are attending school at Geumyang Elementary School in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

One month after the start of full in-person attendance, school density will be adjusted to 2/3.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' 'Strengthening of COVID-19 Social Distancing' policy on the 16th, from the 20th until the winter vacation, the density of all schools in the metropolitan area and oversized/overcrowded schools in non-metropolitan areas will be adjusted to 2/3. For elementary schools, grades 1 and 2 will have full in-person attendance, while grades 3 to 6 will attend at 3/4 capacity. Middle and high schools will be at 2/3 capacity. Kindergartens, special classes (schools), after-school care programs, and small or rural schools will operate normally.

Instead, students attending school for school-based vaccination will be excluded from the density calculation. A three-day preparation period is allowed, and density adjustments can be flexibly made depending on the infection situation by region, with each city and province able to establish their own plans.

Group activities and mobile classes within schools are to be refrained from, and various school events such as graduation ceremonies should be conducted remotely whenever possible. Face-to-face activities must be conducted at the minimum scale, limited to class units or smaller.

Schools conducting final exams are encouraged to separate exam times by grade to reduce on-campus density. From next week, 16.2% of middle schools and 17.2% of high schools will hold final exams.

According to the Ministry of Education, the average daily number of confirmed student cases nationwide for the week from the 9th to the 15th was 869.1, an increase of about 160 from the previous week (707).

The Ministry of Education has been implementing full in-person attendance since November 22, but with the introduction of distancing measures equivalent to level 4, they have decided to adjust density ahead of the vacation. Winter vacation varies by school, but more than half start on December 20 or 27.

From the 20th, 24.8% of elementary, 9.4% of middle, and 42.2% of high school students will begin their vacation. From the 27th, 42.2% of elementary, 45.7% of middle, and 37.9% of high school students will be on vacation. Schools starting vacation after January 3 account for 26.7% of elementary, 40.9% of middle, and 27.2% of high school students.

Universities will also stop phased recovery to normalcy and switch to remote classes. Theoretical, liberal arts, and large-scale lectures are recommended to be conducted online. Seasonal semesters will proceed with face-to-face classes while complying with quarantine rules, and students must sit with one seat spacing in lecture halls. Student council activities will no longer allow gatherings exceeding private meeting limits.

A Ministry of Education official stated, "The policy to conduct face-to-face university classes from next year is currently maintained, but decisions will be made based on future infection situations and school class operation status."

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