Despite Decreasing Student Numbers, 35 New Schools Established This Year... 66% Located in the Capital Area

18 Schools Added Since June Last Year
New Schools Mostly in Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Seoul
2.5 Million Fewer Students Last Year Compared to 2001

Bird's-eye view of Wirye Sol Elementary and Middle School, newly established in 2022

Although the school-age population is declining, the number of schools has increased mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area, where new towns are concentrated.

According to an analysis of the School Information and Education Statistics Service by Jongno Academy on the 23rd, 35 schools were newly established since June last year, and 17 schools were closed, resulting in a net increase of 18 schools. As of March, there are 11,782 elementary, middle, and high schools operating nationwide.

Of the schools newly established this year, 65.7% (23 schools) are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area. Gyeonggi-do has the most with 14 schools, followed by Incheon with 6 schools, and Seoul with 3 schools. The increase in new schools is centered in areas with overcrowded classes. Classes with 28 or more students per class are most common in Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Chungnam, in that order.

In particular, among the 981 schools opened since 2010, more than half (530 schools) are located in the Seoul metropolitan area. This is due to the rapid increase in demand for school districts for elementary, middle, and high schools centered in Gyeonggi-do since the 2010s, as second-phase new towns and large apartment complexes have been established in areas such as Pangyo, Hwaseong, Dongtan, Gimpo, Paju, Suwon, Wirye, Misa, and Namyangju in Gyeonggi-do.

Number of Schools Opened by Province from 2010 to March 2022 (Data Provided by Jongno Academy)

It is expected that the number of newly established schools will increase once full-scale occupancy begins, centered on the third-phase new towns and large-scale land development areas. Among the 13 large-scale land development districts, including Wangsu 1 and 2 in Namyangju, Gyo-san in Hanam, Changneung in Goyang, Daejang in Bucheon, Gwangmyeong Siheung, Uiwang, Gunpo, Ansan, and Jinan new town in Hwaseong, 11 are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gyeonggi-do.

The number of students has decreased by more than 2.5 million over the past 20 years. The number of students in 2021 (5,323,075) decreased by 32% compared to 2001 (8,931,754). By region, Gyeonggi-do saw an 8.5% decrease, while Busan decreased by 49.4%, and many major regions such as Seoul (46.3%), Jeonnam (43.2%), and Daegu (42.8%) experienced decreases of over 40%.

Oh Jong-woon, Evaluation Director at Jongno Academy, explained, "As new towns and large apartment complexes have been established near Seoul, Busan, and Daegu, the urban population has dispersed, leading to a significant decrease in the number of students centered in these areas."

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