Shinan-gun Protects 'Hongdo Branch School' with Hongdo Residents

Providing Jobs Worth 3.2 Million KRW Monthly to Transferred Households

Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Park Woo-ryang) is struggling to maintain the legacy of island schools, with only 37 schools remaining today out of 120 schools in 1970.

According to the county on the 16th, schools on small islands are all facing the risk of closure due to a sharp decline in the number of students. To save Hongdo Branch School first, various countermeasures are being prepared in cooperation with the residents of Hongdo.

Scenic View of Heuksando Hongdo Branch School in Sinan-gun [Photo provided by Sinan-gun]

Hongdo, the jewel of the southwestern sea, has a population of about 500 people. The entire island is a natural protected area (Natural Monument No. 170), located 107 km from Mokpo, and takes 2 hours and 40 minutes by high-speed ferry.

Since its opening in 1949, Heuksan Elementary School Hongdo Branch has produced numerous students and has maintained its reputation as a domestic tourist destination despite being a small island. However, the school, which has been the spiritual center of the local community for 74 years, is now at risk of disappearing next year with only three 6th-grade students.

Accordingly, Shinan-gun has held several consultations with the residents of Hongdo to devise measures to save Hongdo Branch School. These include △ providing accommodation and monthly jobs worth 3.2 million KRW to parents of students enrolling or transferring to the small island school (Hongdo Branch) △ paying an annual Sunlight Child Allowance of 400,000 KRW per child (increasing to 800,000 KRW from 2024) △ job placement and provision for mothers of new and transfer students.

Governor Park Woo-ryang said, “The region can only thrive if the school survives,” and added, “We will do our best to save the small school together with the residents of Hongdo.”

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