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President Lee's former school to shut down amid population decline in rural Korea

Published: 01 Jul. 2025, 17:53

Samgye Elementary School, a branch of Wolgok Elementary School, in Andong, North Gyeongsang. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Samgye Elementary School in Andong, North Gyeongsang — where President Lee Jae Myung once trudged 6 kilometers (3.72 miles) each day through snow and mud — will close its doors for good this September, with just one student left in attendance.

The closure marks a poignant chapter in Korea’s ongoing rural decline. Once a thriving institution with dozens of students per grade, Samgye has dwindled to a single sixth-grade girl. With no incoming students next year, the school will transfer its final pupil in the fall and shut down permanently.

Lee, who spent his childhood in Jitong Village of Dochon-ri, Yean-myeon, recounted in a 2006 blog post the hardships of walking to school from the isolated valley.

"Summer was bearable, but in winter, the walk to school in the morning was pure suffering," Lee wrote in a blog post in January 2006. "I would wash my face with warm water my mother had heated in advance, then grab the metal latch, which would be so cold that my hand would stick to it."

"In winter, older kids who arrived earlier would mischievously splash water on the stepping stones, causing them to freeze,” he wrote. “My rubber shoes would slip, and my feet would end up soaked in freezing water," Lee added.

"There were also days we couldn’t go to school due to summer floods, and sometimes we conspired as a group to skip school, using the floods as an excuse."

During Lee’s time, there were as many as 70 sixth graders at the school. But with the declining school-age population, the school was merged with Wolgok Elementary School in 1999 and designated as the Samgye branch.

This year, the school has only one sixth-grade girl, with no new students expected next year. The school plans to transfer the student to another school in September before closing the campus permanently.

Jitong Village now has just 44 households, and the youngest resident is 64 years old.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]