The district covers all costs, giving students access to top-tier education with no financial burden — a carefully structured pipeline from one-on-one elementary mentoring to a middle school gifted education center aims to develop math and science talent
Jongno-gu is partnering with Seoul Science High School to offer students in the district access to some of the country's highest-quality science education.
The special selection program for Jongno-gu residents at the Seoul Science High School Gifted Education Center launched in earnest this year, with the goal of dramatically raising the quality of public education and ensuring all students can continue learning without financial strain. The district covers the full cost of program fees that would otherwise fall to parents, guaranteeing that students can participate in Seoul Science High School's educational offerings regardless of their family's financial circumstances.
The initiative goes beyond simple financial assistance — it aims to realize equal access to educational opportunity and build a sustainable foundation for nurturing talent. It also provides students with an annual pathway into a nationally top-ranked program, rather than a one-off opportunity.
The program is open to 20 first-year middle school students who either attend a middle school in Jongno-gu or reside in the district.
Applications will be accepted online through the Gifted Education Comprehensive Database from Nov. 4 to Nov. 18. Candidates who pass the document screening will undergo evaluations in December, with final results announced the same month. Education for 2027 will run from April through November next year.
Jongno-gu also runs a range of educational programs for elementary school students. In January, the district held a winter science camp for elementary students in partnership with Seoul Science High School, where teachers from the school led hands-on experiments in physics, chemistry, biology and earth science to spark students' interest in and curiosity about science. In July, Seoul Science High School students led a traveling math-play program designed to make mathematics fun and engaging for elementary schoolchildren.
This month, the district selected 40 fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students to take part in the "2026 Seoul Science High School–Elementary Student 1:1 Mentoring" program, which runs for five sessions in total. The program pairs Seoul Science High School students with elementary schoolchildren one-on-one, with coursework designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Last year, student satisfaction with the program reached 98.7 percent, while parent satisfaction reached 100 percent.
Jongno-gu District Mayor Yoo Chan-jong said the district would "carefully design a structured pathway for locally talented and motivated students to enter gifted education centers, and make Jongno a leading education city in South Korea."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
