Korean school to open branch in Qingdao, China

A Korean school will open a China branch in September, the first such expansion outside Korea by a special-purpose high school.

Daewon Education Foundation, operator of Daewon Foreign Language High School and Daewon International Middle School, announced Sunday that it will establish the Daewon International School in Qingdao.

The school will provide middle and high school educations and room and board. Eighty students for the middle school and 40 for the high school will be selected this year.

The total number of students will eventually rise to about 300, the school said. According to the new international school authority, children of Korean residents in Qingdao who work for Korean companies will be eligible. Korean students wishing to study abroad, foreigners and Korean-Chinese students will also be qualified for admission.

All classes will be conducted in English and Chinese and students will later take TOEFL and HSK tests. The latter is a test of Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers.

The school says it will employ more than 15 foreign teachers, and Daewon Foreign Language High School will dispatch teachers responsible for Korean language, English and Mathematics from Korea.

“We will run the school by following demands from parents who want their child to study at an international school under Korea’s education management system,” said Wi Jun-ho, an official of Daewon Foreign Language High School.

Annual tuition will be around 24 million won ($20,000), including admission fees and room and board. International schools in Korea such as Chadwick International in Songdo, Incheon, and North London Collegiate School Jeju, cost from 40 million to 60 million won annually.

Wi said the school will complete student selection by the end of May.

BY KIM KI-HWAN [nam.yoonseo@joongang.co.kr]