From Kindergartens to Foreign Schools... Busan Education Office Expands Educational Welfare

First in the Nation: Lunch Subsidies for Foreign Schools,
Expansion of Free Education at Private Kindergartens and School Uniform Support

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education will become the first in the nation to provide lunch subsidies to small-scale foreign schools starting in September. Beginning next year, the office also plans to implement full free education for all children aged 3 to 5 attending private kindergartens. In addition, the office will significantly expand support for school uniforms for new middle school students and for graduation album fees for elementary, middle, and high school students, thereby strengthening overall educational welfare.

On the 17th, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education announced that Superintendent Kim Seokjun will actively pursue these policies to fulfill his campaign pledge of "educational welfare that supports families like family," which he proposed during the re-election.

The core of this policy is the inclusion of students at foreign schools as beneficiaries of educational welfare. The office will allocate the relevant budget in a supplementary appropriation and, following deliberation by the Busan Metropolitan Council, will begin providing lunch subsidies to schools such as Busan Chinese Primary School and Busan Chinese Middle and High School starting in September. This measure aims to improve meal conditions at small-scale foreign schools and address educational blind spots.

Furthermore, starting in 2026, the office will implement full free education for children aged 3 to 5 attending private kindergartens. Currently, free education is provided at public kindergartens, but the additional cost burden at private kindergartens has raised concerns about fairness. The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education plans to allocate a free education budget in line with the Ministry of Education's standard early childhood education expenses and is in discussions to establish related social security systems.

Additionally, the current policy of providing free school uniforms only to first-year middle school students from low-income families will be expanded to include all new middle school students starting next year. Support for graduation album fees, which was previously limited to households at or below 80% of the median income, will be expanded to households at or below 100% of the median income and will be reflected in the main budget starting in 2026.

Superintendent Kim Seokjun stated, "We will strive to realize universal educational welfare by expanding support to small-scale foreign schools and fully implementing free education at private kindergartens," adding, "We will do our best to reduce the burden on parents and enhance equity in educational opportunities."

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education becomes the first in the nation to provide lunch subsidies for foreign schools.

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