New enrollment at elementary schools hits historic low as Korea's birthrate battle continues
Published: 07 Feb. 2025, 19:06
Updated: 09 Feb. 2025, 15:43
![Parents and their kids take a look around an elementary school in Incheon on Jan. 7 before the new semester starts in March. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/09/a6fc732d-e079-4999-9418-bd7eeb660d33.jpg)
Parents and their kids take a look around an elementary school in Incheon on Jan. 7 before the new semester starts in March. [YONHAP]
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Feb. 6, 334,145 children were born in Korea in 2018, marking an 8.3 percent decrease from 364,740 the previous year. This year's elementary school enrollment figure is the lowest since related statistics were first compiled in 2008.
The decline in the number of elementary school students is particularly evident in Seoul, where the population is concentrated. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 53,956 children are set to enroll in public elementary schools this year, marking a 9.3 percent decrease from 59,492 last year.
Due to the shrinking student population, two elementary schools in Seoul closed last year.
The sharp population decline is impacting not only Seoul but also elementary schools in once-bustling areas in provincial regions, pushing them to the brink of closure.
In Gwangju, only one student has enrolled at Jungang Elementary School, located in the heart of the city's old downtown. The school, adjacent to Geumnam-ro and Chungjang-ro, once the busiest streets in the Jeolla region, was established in 1907 and has produced 36,567 graduates. In the early 1980s, more than 4,000 students were enrolled, making it difficult for students from other areas to transfer to the school.
![A boy meets his teacher for the first time on Jan. 2 at an elementary school in Daegu. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/09/cd281383-149c-4a45-8f86-b5973f81c7c1.jpg)
A boy meets his teacher for the first time on Jan. 2 at an elementary school in Daegu. [NEWS1]
From 1975 to 1980, the school had more than 800 to 900 incoming students each year. However, that number dropped to the 600s in the mid-1980s and has steadily declined ever since. This year, the total student body has shrunk to 23, and the school will operate without a vice principal. Seoseok Elementary School, another central school in Gwangju's old downtown, saw its incoming student count fall to nine this year.
In Gwangju, the number of elementary school students has dropped below 10,000. The figure, which stood at 12,538 in 2023, fell to 11,392 last year and 9,969 this year, decreasing by more than 1,000 annually. In South Jeolla, the number of incoming elementary school students dropped to 10,108 this year, marking a 9.4 percent decrease from 11,155 last year.
In Busan, the number of incoming students has fallen below 20,000. According to the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, the number of students subject to preliminary elementary school enrollment this year is 18,422, down 9.7 percent from 22,081 in 2023 and 20,393 last year.
Among 304 elementary schools in Busan, the number with fewer than 10 incoming students increased from 21 last year to 29 this year. One elementary school in Gangseo District, western Seoul, has no new students this year.
Another 23 schools, including Hwangdun Elementary School in Wonju, have only one new student each. The total number of elementary school students in Gangwon has declined by 5.6 percent, from 65,746 last year to 62,032 this year.
Sejong, which has the highest proportion of young residents nationwide, has not been spared from the impact of the declining school-age population either. According to the Sejong City Office of Education, eight elementary schools in the city have 10 or fewer incoming students this year. Among them, Yeondong Elementary School in Yeondong County has no new students.
The number of incoming elementary school students in Sejong stands at 4,579 this year, marking a 5.8 percent decrease from 4,862 last year. The number, which was 5,555 in 2022, dropped to 5,311 in 2023 and has continued to decline. Despite young people making up 31 percent of Sejong's total population, the highest proportion among cities and provinces nationwide, the city is experiencing a steady decrease in school enrollment.
![Elementary school students enter the school compound in March in downtown Seoul. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/09/bd717f94-72b5-4959-a2d9-983a76582e35.jpg)
Elementary school students enter the school compound in March in downtown Seoul. [NEWS1]
As the school-age population plummets, more schools are shutting down. In Seoul alone, six schools closed last year, including Gongjin Middle School and Yeomgang Elementary School in Gangseo District, western Seoul, Deoksoo High School and Seongsu Technical High School in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, Hwayang Elementary School in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, and Dobong High School in Dobong District, northern Seoul.
Gyeongseo Middle School in Gangseo District has halted this year's new student admissions entirely.
In North Jeolla, eight schools, including Simchang Elementary School in Gimje and Unam Middle School in Imsil, will close this year. Four elementary schools in Gunsan are also shutting down. The North Jeolla Provincial Office of Education has been pushing to merge schools with fewer than 10 students since 2023, resulting in the closure of 12 elementary and middle schools by last year.
As more schools close, their sites are being repurposed in various ways. In Seoul, more than half the six recently closed schools have been converted into offices for departments under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education or trade union offices.
To manage closed school facilities, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education invested 860 million won ($594,120) last year. In September 2023, the Seoul Metropolitan Council revised the ordinance on the management and use of closed school properties, allowing them to be converted into senior welfare housing.
"With the decline in the school-age population, more schools will inevitably close," said Lee Hyo-won, a Seoul city councilor from the conservative People Power Party. "Instead of leaving them abandoned, we need to maximize their use as community assets based on residents' needs."
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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