Dunchon Jugong 'Urban Campus' Middle School Planned to Open in 2029

On November 1, a 'urban campus' middle school in the form of a branch school will be established within the Dunchon Jugong apartment complex, where about 12,000 households will move in. It is scheduled to open in March 2029 and plans to accommodate 504 students.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 28th that it is promoting the establishment of a 'middle school urban campus' on donated land to improve the educational environment of nearby schools expected to see an increase in middle school students due to the large-scale housing development project of Dunchon Jugong reconstruction.

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An urban campus refers to a branch school operated to leverage the advantages of small-scale schools while ensuring operational and educational financial efficiency. The reason for devising the urban campus is that, despite the declining school-age population trend, some areas undergoing reconstruction and redevelopment are experiencing an increase in the number of students. If certain conditions such as the number of classes and students required to establish a regular school are not met, establishment is impossible, which has caused issues such as overcrowded schools and long-distance commuting near development areas.

After the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the policy in October last year, in June this year, the 'Seoul Gangsol Elementary School Ganghyeon Campus' in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, announced plans to be the 'first' urban campus. The 'Dunchon-dong Middle School Urban Campus (newly established type 2 campus school)' is the first newly planned urban campus at the middle school level in Seoul.

The newly established type 2 campus school is a model installed in areas where school sites have already been secured in the project area, where establishing a regular school is difficult but school facilities are needed to alleviate overcrowded classes. The urban campus will operate a common curriculum with the main school, and school facilities such as meals and gymnasiums will be operated under the same standards as regular schools. The construction cost for the establishment of the urban campus will be fully borne by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education with a budget of about 28 billion KRW.

Previously, the Gangdong-Songpa Education Support Office of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education signed a donation agreement with the Dunchon Jugong Reconstruction Association in 2014 for the purpose of school establishment on 16,124.9㎡ of school land. However, in 2020, the Ministry of Education's central investment review decided that establishing a middle school was inappropriate due to a lack of demand for a regular school scale, leading the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to promote the establishment of an urban campus.

Last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education reported a plan to adjust the school site with 'establishment of Dunchon Elementary Attached Kindergarten and promotion of middle school urban campus' at the central investment review and received approval for the 'establishment of Seoul Dunchon Elementary Attached Kindergarten.' An education office official explained, "Through this, we plan to thoroughly prepare to pass the Ministry of Education's central investment review for the Dunchon-dong middle school urban campus in the first half of next year."

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "Although there were many difficulties, we will actively promote the establishment of a middle school urban campus in the Dunchon-dong area, where a regional increase in middle school-age population is expected due to large-scale development projects, to improve the educational environment of nearby schools and continue efforts to realize demand-centered policies."

Meanwhile, in June, when Seoul City was reported to be considering converting the school site of Dunchon Jugong into a public open space based on the 2020 inappropriate decision at the Ministry of Education's central investment review, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education expressed opposition to the plan.

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