40 education innovation zones to operate from 2027

Hub schools to be developed instead of closures

Up to W40b in package support per region

The Ministry of Education is moving to revamp small schools struggling with declining student populations. Elementary school students study with AI textbooks at Yonggye Elementary School in Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu. [Yonhap]
The Ministry of Education is moving to revamp small schools struggling with declining student populations. Elementary school students study with AI textbooks at Yonggye Elementary School in Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Education is launching a small-school overhaul to rescue rural and regional schools battered by falling student enrollment. The ministry will introduce a new "education innovation zone" program — a revamped version of its existing education development special zone initiative — selecting 40 zones nationwide from 2027 and providing 10 billion won (about $6.59 million) per zone over five years.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin announced the plan on the afternoon of June 10 at Gunwi Middle School in Daegu, presenting the "Basic Plan for Education Innovation Zones and Measures to Raise Regional Education Quality Through Small-School Reform." The program brings together provincial education offices, local governments and communities to build regional education innovation models. Starting in 2027, the ministry plans to designate 30 zones in population-decline areas and 10 in non-Greater Seoul and border regions — 40 in total — providing 2 billion won per zone annually for up to five years.

The initiative builds on the education development special zone pilot that has been running since 2024, expanding and restructuring it. "The basic framework of cooperation between education offices and local governments remains, but the emphasis has shifted enough that we view this as a new project," a ministry official said.

The program's name has also changed — from "education development special zone" to "education innovation leading zone." The ministry said the word "special zone" implied a limited, exceptional area, which created constraints, and that the new name was chosen to reflect the goal of identifying outstanding regional models and spreading them nationwide.

The Ministry of Education will introduce education innovation zones — a restructured version of the education development special zone program — selecting 40 sites from 2027 and providing 10 billion won per zone over five years. [Ministry of Education/Created with ChatGPT]
The Ministry of Education will introduce education innovation zones — a restructured version of the education development special zone program — selecting 40 sites from 2027 and providing 10 billion won per zone over five years. [Ministry of Education/Created with ChatGPT]

The ministry identified shrinking small schools as a central challenge. "Thirty-one percent of schools nationwide are small schools, and educational conditions have reached a breaking point," a ministry official said. "Consolidation alone is not the answer, but without innovation — such as running shared curricula — regional development will also be difficult."

The ministry will also scrap the "recommended standards for developing appropriately sized schools and reorganizing branch schools," a framework it established in 2015. Officials said uniform student-count thresholds should give way to autonomous, locally tailored decisions.

The ministry will expand fiscal support to encourage school consolidation as part of the small-school reform. Consolidation grants will rise to a maximum of 7.5 billion won for elementary schools and up to 13 billion won for secondary schools. When linked with dormitory construction, school-community facility development and projects to repurpose closed schools, a single region could receive a package of around 40 billion won.

However, the ministry drew a clear line between this policy and past consolidation drives motivated by economic efficiency. "Where previous consolidations focused on cutting costs, this plan centers on student growth and improving education quality," an official said. "The goal is to create an environment where students can learn alongside diverse peers and have access to a full range of elective courses."

"Quality education in a region is the engine of that region's development," Minister Choi said. "The heart of school reform is not reducing the number of schools but raising the quality of education — we will build good schools where students can experience distinctive and varied curricula and grow within their own communities."


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