60% of Seoul Schools Prepare for School Trips After August

According to the Education Office Survey, 334 out of 584 schools
Preparing for school trips and small-scale educational trips from August to December
Allowing 2-night, 3-day trips for groups under 200 people until July

On the 2nd, when normal attendance was resumed at all schools nationwide, students are attending school at Gwangjang Elementary School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. 2022.05.02 Photo by Joint Press Corps

The majority of elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul are planning training activities such as school trips and small-scale themed educational trips within this year. Most of these plans are scheduled for after August, when restrictions on the number of participants in training activities are lifted.

According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on 584 schools on the 4th, 334 schools (58.8%) planned activities between August and December. 158 schools (27.0%) were undecided. When looking at the plans by month, the highest number of schools (30.6%) hoped for October, followed by September (16.9%). May (6.5%) was the third most common month for planning.

A representative from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "Schools planning training activities in May often aim for 1 night and 2 days with around 100 participants. After obtaining 70% parental consent, the plan must go through the school operation committee review and be reported to the education office." They added, "Trips lasting 2 nights and 3 days or more, or overseas trips, are unrealistic at this time, and since confirmed cases are still occurring, most schools are cautious."

In Seoul, overnight training activities such as school trips will have phased restrictions on the number of participants and operation schedules starting in May. Until July, training activities are allowed for fewer than 200 people and up to 2 nights and 3 days. The accommodation capacity and dining hall capacity of training institutions must be at two-thirds or less. From August, activities can be conducted up to 100% of accommodation capacity without restrictions on the number of participants or duration. For small-scale themed educational activities, teams of fewer than 100 people are allowed even after August. The education office decided to permit small-scale educational activities with teams of 100 to fewer than 130 people starting in August, after gathering opinions from school members and reviewing by the school operation committee.

The education office prohibits overseas travel until COVID-19 is under control. When planning training activities or small-scale educational trips, schools must include contingency plans in case of confirmed COVID-19 cases. They must also prepare measures for transportation in case of suspected symptoms or confirmed cases, and plans for long-term stay if transportation is difficult. Additionally, until June, the education office will expand on-site mobile PCR testing for schools wishing to conduct proactive testing before and after training activities or school trips.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education will lift the mask-wearing mandate for experiential learning and school trips starting from the 23rd. However, school principals may recommend wearing masks outdoors during experiential learning or school trips if they judge the risk of infection to be high, reflecting the opinions of school members.

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