Home > National > Social Affairs

Jeju education office aims to revitalize rural schools through urban-rural exchanges

Published: 05 Sep. 2025, 07:00

Siblings Kim Geon-hu, left, and Kim A-rang, who came to Changcheon Elementary School in Jeju through the rural school exchange program, hold up basil picked from the school garden on Aug. 28. [CHOI CHOONG-IL]

JEJU — Fourth-grader Kim Geon-hu swapped a school of nearly 1,500 classmates in Anyang, Gyeonggi for one with fewer than 60 in Jeju, part of a rural school exchange program that invites city families to the island to breathe life back into its dwindling classrooms.

The rural school exchange program in Korea allows students from cities to relocate with their families to farming or fishing villages for a set period, usually six months to a year, to revitalize rural schools that face declining enrollment while giving urban children the chance to study in smaller classes and experience countryside life through activities such as farming, gardening and local cultural programs.

“My dream is to be a diplomat," said Kim, who attends Changcheon Elementary School. "Since diplomats build relationships, I want to get to know everyone in my school more deeply and nurture my dream.”

Kim began studying at Changcheon Elementary School in Seogwipo, Jeju, after transferring from a school in Anyang, Gyeonggi, where the full student population reached 1,470 before summer break.

Changcheon Elementary, by contrast, had only 46 students. Eleven rural exchange students including Kim raised the total to 57.

“It’s only been 10 days since I arrived in Jeju, but I’ve already made many friends,” Kim said. “At my previous school I mostly socialized within my class or grade. Here, I want to learn everyone’s names.”

That same day his younger sister, Kim A-rang, a first-grader at Changcheon, joined him in harvesting basil grown in the school’s vegetable plot.

“We want to put the basil our friends grew on pizza,” the two said. “We want to help it grow well too and make pesto.”

Their mother, Yang Seon-hee, who relocated with both children, said, “I’ve studied alternative medicine and grown an organic vegetable garden with my kids. I’m delighted that the school runs a garden so they can grow crops here as well.”

She added that if her children continue to adapt, she would positively consider staying after the initial six-month trial period.

Changcheon Elementary School participates in the rural exchange program launched by the Jeju Provincial Office of Education in the fall semester. The program allows elementary students from other regions to attend rural schools with their parents, experience rural life and attend classes for six months.

“In 1976, the school had 352 students, but since the 2000s, that number fell under 100," Principal Kim Hyo‑soon said. "It’s a small school, but it’s designated as a global-competence school by the education office. Two families from the United States have already transferred here, and we have a unique strength in teaching the endangered Jeju dialect. I hope the classrooms will buzz with activity again.”

Siblings Kim Geon-hu, center left, and Kim A-rang, center right, who came to Changcheon Elementary School in Jeju through the rural school exchange program, pick basil grown by students in the school garden with their mother, left, and the principal on Aug. 28. [CHOI CHOONG-IL]

Eight schools, including Changcheon Elementary, joined the program.

The Jeju education office selected 49 students from 31 households out of 136 applicants from seven metropolitan areas, including Seoul.

They assigned students to schools with fewer than 60 students: six at Gwiduck Elementary School, five at Songdang Elementary School, 12 at Pyeongdae Elementary School, four at Hado Elementary, eight at Sungeub Elementary School, two at Shinrye Elementary School, five at Changcheon Elementary School and seven at Heungsan Elementary School.

“There are fewer students here, so I think I’ll be able to do more activities,” said fifth-grader Kang Se-hyun, who moved from Seongnam, Gyeonggi to Pyeongdae Elementary.

Third-grader Oh Se-eun from Seoul said, “I worried about leaving my best friend behind, but I like the beautiful Jeju sea and inactive volcanoes, and I enjoy having more time to talk with new friends.”

Jeju’s education office plans to pilot the program in the fall semester this year and continue it in six-month or one-year increments from next year, with options to extend as needed.

Changcheon Elementary School in Jeju [CHOI CHOONG-IL]

To support emotional stability, they use a “family-residential” model and provide 300,000 won ($215) per household in monthly housing support, plus an additional 100,000 won per child. Families relocating from Seoul receive extra study‑support funding from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

“Through rural schooling, we intend to maintain student numbers in small schools and improve educational conditions via urban-rural exchange," Jeju Education Superintendent Kim Kwang-soo said. "We will continue to support living conditions and region-linked curricula alongside local governments.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI CHOONG-IL [[email protected]]