4 schools start summer break early amid heavy rains

A fence in a school is severely damaged following torrential rain. (Gangwon Provincial Office of Education)

Four schools announced early summer breaks on Monday, as incessant heavy rains ripped through parts of South Korea, leaving much of the country waterlogged over the weekend.

The Ministry of Education also said on the same day that another 18 schools had tweaked their schedules as of Sunday at 10 p.m. to keep students and teaching staff safe in the wake of heavy rains.

By region, one middle school in Seoul decided to shorten school hours, while another middle school in the southeastern city of Ulsan operated on a delayed start due to inclement weather. One kindergarten in the administrative city of Sejong switched to online classes.

Nine schools in North Chungcheong Province, which has been heavily affected, rescheduled their opening times or shifted to online teaching. Additionally, five schools in each of South Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province have made adjustments to their classrooms or initiated their annual summer breaks early due to the ongoing adverse weather conditions.

Meanwhile, one teacher was confirmed dead in an underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

Fifty schools had also suffered property damage as of Monday at 9 a.m., including a flooded playing field, collapsed fences, flooded garage, electrical damage, drain flooding and downed trees. No casualties were reported, and the Education Ministry plans to provide support for disaster recovery costs.

In light of torrential rains creating havoc nationwide, the ministry said it would team up with each education office to instruct students and personnel how to prevent casualties and damages during natural disasters.

On Monday afternoon, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho visited a rain-struck school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and said his ministry would spare no support in restoring the damaged facilities of schools.

“The Ministry of Education will provide all possible support to normalize students’ education and create a safe environment,” Lee said, thanking schools and each education office for their swift response to the downpour by adjusting school schedules.