International School to Be Attracted and Established in Jinhae Free Economic Zone

Changwon Special City, Targeting School Opening in 2029

Operated as an Integrated Elementary, Middle, and High School Program

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam announced on the 25th that it plans to attract and establish an integrated elementary, middle, and high school international school (foreign educational institution) within the Jinhae Free Economic Zone, aiming to open in 2029, to improve the foreign investment environment and enhance educational conditions for both foreigners and locals.

The eastern area of Jinhae is growing as a hinterland city for the new port, with active international exchanges and an influx of diverse social groups. However, the lack of educational facilities for both foreigners and locals is one of the factors limiting population inflow, causing difficulties in attracting foreign overseas investment.

Therefore, to improve residential conditions for foreigners and locals, revitalize foreign investment attraction, create a favorable environment for businesses, and meet the educational demand for children of both foreigners and locals, the city is promoting the establishment of an international school.

Kim Jong-pil, Director of the Autonomous Administration Bureau of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is giving an explanation.

To this end, the city plans to conduct a feasibility study and establish a basic plan this year.

This feasibility study for establishing an international school in Changwon is the first of its kind. Until now, Changwon has relied on feasibility study materials from schools that expressed interest during efforts to establish a foreign school (MOU in 2011) and foreign educational institutions (MOU in 2017), as well as on the Free Economic Zone Authority.

This study will include reasons for previous establishment failures in the city, success and failure cases from other regions, candidate site identification, environmental impact analysis, feasibility studies, and a step-by-step roadmap.

Additionally, to specify an establishment model suitable for the Jinhae New Port hinterland area, the study will comprehensively reflect appropriate scale, investment cost estimation, and business feasibility, and will review phased establishment plans and diverse funding methods to derive the optimal school construction plan within this year.

If the feasibility and justification for establishing the international school are secured through this study, detailed implementation plans and administrative procedures will be completed, and an investment intention survey will be conducted to lead to the signing of an MOU for school establishment with partner organizations by 2026.

Kim Jong-pil, Director of the Autonomous Administration Bureau, stated, “By building educational infrastructure through attracting an international school, we will strengthen Changwon’s stature as a dignified international city and lay the foundation for Jinhae New Port to grow into a key port in Northeast Asia.”

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