Seoul pushes ahead with school for NK defectors despite opposition

Seoul will proceed as planned with building a permanent campus for an alternative high school serving young North Korean defectors in Gangseo-gu, the city's education authorities said Sunday, despite opposition from some nearby residents.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education held a town hall meeting with residents Friday to explain plans to renovate the former Seoul Yeomgang Elementary School, which closed in 2020, to accommodate Yeomyung School and the city’s Early Childhood Education and Promotion Center.

Yeomyung School was established in Gwanak-gu in 2004 to help young North Korean defectors adjust to life in South Korea. It relocated to Jung-gu in 2008 and sought to move to Eunpyeong-gu in 2019, but the plan was abandoned amid strong opposition from residents.

The school eventually moved to its current leased location in Gangseo-gu in 2023. Its lease is set to expire in February 2027.

Hyundai Motor Group provided 6 billion won ($4.3 million) in July to support the renovation of the school’s facilities. The Unification Ministry has also said it would provide administrative and financial support for the school’s operation.

Plans for the renovation began facing backlash in August, when the education office held its first town hall meeting. Residents of a nearby apartment complex subsequently formed a group opposing the project and began collecting signatures for a petition.

The group said it had collected around 300 signatures as of Wednesday.

Residents have also repeatedly posted messages on a forum operated by the Gangseo-gu District Office calling on the local government to intervene and halt the project.

The opposition group has criticized what it describes as a lack of consultation with residents before the project was announced.

“The education office only told the Gangseo-gu District Office of its plans to hold a town hall meeting a day before it was held,” a member of the group told Yonhap News Agency. “It is rushed administration that we cannot accept as proper opinion gathering from residents.”

Some residents have also objected to placing Yeomyung School on the same site as facilities intended for young children.

“A hands-on learning center for young children will be established on the site along with the Early Childhood Education and Promotion Center,” the resident said. “If there is a school for North Korean defectors right next to the hands-on learning center, parents would be left apprehensive. What parent would send their children there?”

Concerns over property values have also surfaced in messages attributed to opponents of the project.

“If we fail to resist the establishment of Yeomyung School, there is no future for Gangseo-gu even if there is redevelopment,” read a message shared in a residents’ group chat, according to Yonhap.

As Friday’s town hall meeting grew heated, Yeomyung School Principal Cho Myung-sook fell to her knees before residents and broke into tears.

Some residents also knelt in front of Cho during the confrontation, underscoring the intensity of the dispute over the school’s relocation.

Cho recalled the opposition the school encountered during its attempted relocation to Eunpyeong-gu in 2019 and expressed concern that students could again be hurt by the controversy surrounding their school.

“I feel so sorry and worried that our students will be hurt again,” Cho said.

The Seoul education office said it has taken measures to shield students from the dispute, including keeping them out of town hall meetings.

“The education office is pushing forward with this project because it has a responsibility to support North Korean defector children,” an education office official told residents at Friday’s meeting.

“We reviewed seven different sites, and Gangseo-gu was the most suitable. Where should we go if not here?” the official added.

The education office said it plans to proceed with the project despite the opposition while continuing discussions with representatives of residents.