Attention is already focused on the issue of schools in the Mok-dong area, which is scheduled to be transformed into a ‘mini new town’. Although the reconstruction project is still in the early stages, residents and investors are already showing great interest in student placement issues due to future relocation and influx of residents, as it is the ‘number one school district’. The local education support office also began conducting research to find a response.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 6th, the new school site has not yet been reflected in the ‘Mokdong District Housing Site Development Project District Unit Planning Area and Plan Decision’ that was finalized and announced last month. It is expected that this will be decided through consultation with relevant departments in the process of establishing a maintenance plan in which the head of the autonomous district office is the planning authority. A city official said, “I understand that there is currently a site in the Mokdong district that can be considered for school use,” and added, “We will need to comprehensively review the decline in the school-age population and make a decision.”
The 14 complexes in Mokdong New Town currently have 26,629 households, but will be rebuilt to accommodate up to 53,000 households in the future. Accordingly, Mok-dong is still a major overcrowded school district, and many believe that if the number of households doubles, new or expanded schools will be inevitable. However, establishing a new school is easier said than done due to concerns about a ‘decrease in the number of school-age students.’ ‘Olympic Park Foreon’, a large-scale reconstruction complex, also failed to pass the threshold of the Ministry of Education’s Central Investment Review Committee in 2020 to build a new middle school within the complex due to insufficient student demand.
Regarding student placement, the local education support office is also pursuing research services. The Gangseo Yangcheon Office of Education in Seoul will be holding a bidding notice for the ‘Research service on먹튀검증 appropriate student placement plans according to the Mokdong district reconstruction project’ until the 10th of this month. The target of the service is 10 elementary schools in the Mok-dong housing site development district, 10 middle schools in Gangseo Yangcheon District 3, and 2 elementary schools near the district. The service tasks included analysis of changes in the school-age population due to the influx of population due to the large-scale maintenance project in Mok-dong, review of new sites for operating schools at an appropriate size, and plans for expansion of existing school classrooms and school relocation.
Residents are also concerned about whether students will attend school normally during the relocation period during the reconstruction process. The two apartment complexes in Mok-dong’s new town are usually bounded by the same elementary school attendance zone. One resident said, “Mok-dong is a neighborhood that is careful about interior design due to concerns about noise during exam periods, and I wonder how coordination will be done during reconstruction.” “Two complexes share one elementary school, but if the reconstruction situation is different for each complex, parents can’t attend school as normal.” “I am concerned about whether or not it will happen,” he said.
An official from the Office of Education said, “At the current project stage, the timing (relocation, etc.) has not yet been specified, so it is difficult to make a definitive statement (related to school attendance and student placement).” If the schools are different, we need to look at the situation, such as whether to adjust the school attendance area and send the child to another school. Or, even though construction is in progress, safety measures can be established and students can go to the existing school,” he said.