Historic elementary schools face closure as enrollments nosedive

Social Affairs

Published: 05 Mar. 2024, 15:55 Updated: 05 Mar. 2024, 19:06

Historic elementary schools face closure as enrollments nosedive

An empty playground with no students at Imdong Elementary School in Andong, North Gyeongsang on Feb. 8. [KIM JONG-HO]

Due to a striking decline in student population, elementary schools with a 100-year-old history face the risk of closure.

When entering Imdong Elementary School in Andong, North Gyeongsang, a marble stands engraved with a poem dedicated to the school, written by Yoo An-jin, a poet and professor emeritus at Seoul National University.

A verse reads, “My first school from which I graduated, where my father went, where my aunt went, and now I went. Be everlasting and forever.”

However, the poet’s wish is at risk of fading away.

A total of 780 elementary schools with histories of over a century still exist, according to a JoongAng Ilbo study based on the data provided by a school data website, “School Info.”

Of these schools, 38.6 percent, or 301, have less than 60 students.

In other words, four out of 10 schools are on the verge of closing due to the decline in student numbers.

The education offices see schools with less than 60 students subjected to closure or merger, following the Ministry of Education’s guideline for school size.

Out of 157 elementary schools nationwide with no new students this year, 24, or 15.3 percent, had a history of over 100 years, according to the offices of minor Green Justice Party's Rep. Jang Hye-yeong and former lawmaker Lee Eun-ju.

Many expect, however, that more 100-year-old schools will be on the verge of closure or even closed soon.

In 10 years, 1,416 elementary schools will be over a century old, and almost half of them will be subjected to closure or merger with a nearby school.

Imdong Elementary School marked its 100th anniversary in 2022 but has only 15 students, putting it at high risk of closure.

Only three desks are laid out according to the number of students in the fifth-grade classroom.

“Unfortunately, the school is at risk of closing due to lack of students even though it has a 100-year history,” the principal told the JoongAng Ilbo. “If Imdong Elementary School closes, no schools will be left in Imdong-myeon.”

Imdong Elementary School had zero enrollments this year.

Last year, it started with zero enrollments, but later, a student transferred to the school and filled a spot.

Though the area has proud traditions in education, with locals saying that “half of Andong’s talent is from Imdong,” the region has faced low fertility rates and a falling population.

Accordingly, the student population is also falling.

According to Andong’s statistical yearbook, Imdong-myeon had 8,768 residents in 1987, with seven elementary schools and one middle school in the area.

“The elementary school was filled with children, with over 200 graduates at that time,” said a teacher at Imdong Elementary School who graduated from the school in 1987.

Imdong’s population was 1,650 this year, with only one elementary school left.

Imdong Middle School, the only middle school, closed in 2018 due to the student shortfall.

The region had only one newborn last year and currently has 13 children who are under the age of five.

Only three desks are laid out according to the number of students in the fifth-grade classroom at Imdong Elementary School in Andong, North Gyeongsang on Feb. 8. [KIM JONG-HO]

“There are more cats than kids,” the deputy chief officer of Imdong-myeon said. “If a school that has been around for over a century disappears due to lack of students, it concerns me that there will be no more people flowing into the area, and the liveliness of the region will diminish.”

However, the closure of 100-year-old schools is no longer a rural problem, as schools in metropolitan cities are also facing the same concern due to the low fertility rate and the “doughnut effect.”

The doughnut effect is where people leave urban centers to escape expensive housing and move to less central locations with cheaper housing prices.

Seoseok Elementary School in Gwangju, with graduates such as Korean outfielder Lee Jung-hoo and 2023 Korean series title winner LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb, marked its 128th anniversary this year.

The school was well-known for its baseball team in the past, but now school administrators worry about whether they can continue maintaining a team.

Seoseok Elementary School’s baseball team was first established in 1930.

When Lee joined the team in 2007, the school had a student body of over 400. However, last year, the student body shrunk to 130 students.

Only seven students enrolled this year, half last year with 13 students.

Last year’s enrollment was only 16 percent of the average enrollment, 81 students, among elementary schools in Gwangju.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, the school is predicted to shrink to 60 students by 2028, putting it at risk of closing or merging.

“[Seoseok Elementary School is] a small school in the center of the city with not many students residing near the school,” the vice principal of the school said, as there were no apartment complexes within 500 meters (1,640 feet) of the school.

Seoul, the biggest city in Korea, shares the concern as schools over a century old see low enrollment numbers.

Century-old elementary schools in Jongno District, central Seoul, had enrollments ranging from 24 to 35 this year, including schools such as Seoul Jaedong Elementary School, Seoul Maedong Elementary School, Seoul Kyodong Elementary School, and Seoul Hyoje Elementary School.

The enrollments were far below the average number of students enrolling in Seoul, 98 in 2023, and less than half of the average enrollment, 52, in Jongno District.

“They are attempting to go by a ‘small specialized school’ strategy to garner students, being at the center of the city where there is lack of residents,” an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said. “In reality, however, it’s difficult to attract students just by emphasizing the school’s history and tradition.”

Due to such circumstances, many say that measures to utilize the century-old schools should be considered following the low fertility rate leading to a shortage of students.

“When something stands for over a century, it not only implies that its existence had meaning but also that it has meaning to deliver for the future,” Imdong Elementary School’s principal said. “It is time to consider how to use the small century-old schools educationally and locally rather than shutting them down as student numbers decrease.”

BY LEE HOO-YEON, LEE GA-RAM, CHOI MIN-JI [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]