South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the Korea Environment Institute said Wednesday they will hold the "2026 Excellent Environmental Education School Designation Ceremony" at Centropolis in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The Excellent Environmental Education School program designates schools that operate exemplary environmental education curricula. Designations run for three years, and each selected school receives an official plaque, a certificate and a cash award of 10 million won ($6,750), along with environmental education materials including books and teaching aids.
Now in its fifth year, the program expanded the number of new annual designees from three to five this year to broaden school participation and identify a wider range of best practices.
The five schools newly designated this year are Seoulsinseо Elementary School in Seoul, Hansan Elementary School in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Chunghyeon Middle School in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Pureunkkum High School in Muju, North Jeolla Province, and Eunhye School in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province.
With this year's additions, a total of 21 schools have been designated under the program to date, of which 11 currently hold active designations.
The five schools earned their designations across multiple areas: integrating environmental education into regular curricula and creative experiential activities, promoting carbon neutrality through eco-friendly campus spaces, and spreading a culture of green lifestyle practices in partnership with families and local communities.
Notably, Eunhye School — a special education school located in the newly integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City — became the first special school to receive the designation since the program launched.
"We expect the excellent environmental education schools to serve as hubs for sharing and spreading best practices from the classroom," said Jeong Seon-hwa, director general for green transition policy at the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy. "We will do our utmost to support students in building the competencies they need in an era of climate crisis."
thlee@heraldcorp.com
