Seoul's Jung-gu district will launch a project next year to bring English and literacy curricula from well-known hagwon into local educational facilities, the district announced Wednesday. The initiative aims to spare residents the inconvenience of ferrying children to Gangnam or to hagwon-dense districts such as Gwangjin-gu, Nowon-gu and Yangcheon-gu — a practice commonly known as "riding."
Under the project, English and Korean-language classes from prominent hagwon brands — including Cheongdam Language School, April Language School, Giparang Literacy Institute and Yeseolla — will be offered at local facilities such as the Jung-gu Education Support Center and the Gwanghui Elementary School English Experience Center.
For English education, April Language School will run elementary-level classes at the Gwanghui Elementary School English Experience Center, while Cheongdam Language School will operate its advanced literacy program for prospective middle and high school students, called THE OPEN, at the Jung-gu Education Support Center.
In Korean-language education, Giparang Literacy Institute will offer classes linking reading, inquiry, discussion and writing for elementary and middle school students, while Yeseolla will handle literacy education for elementary school students.
The district also plans to reduce tuition costs for parents. To that end, Jung-gu signed an MOU Saturday with Creverse, which operates Cheongdam Language School and April Language School. A separate agreement with Gukpul Education, which runs the literacy-focused brands Giparang Literacy Institute and Yeseolla, is scheduled for Dec. 2.
Once the 2027 project budget is approved by the district council, programs will roll out sequentially starting in January. Giparang Literacy Institute classes at the Jung-gu Education Support Center will launch first, followed by Cheongdam Language School's English program in March. April Language School and Yeseolla programs are also set to begin in March.
"This project is also the first step in building the Dasanno Education Cluster that Jung-gu is pursuing," a district official said. "We plan to bring quality educational resources into Jung-gu to support students' learning and growth, and to ease the burden on parents who have been traveling to other districts for their children's education."
The Dasanno Education Cluster was a campaign pledge by Jung-gu District Mayor Kim Gil-sung in the June 3 local elections. At the time, Kim said the district would "actively support the introduction of the International Baccalaureate program favored by parents and expand the functions of the Jung-gu Education Support Center to strengthen public education."
District Mayor Kim said of the project: "We will do our best to build solid educational competitiveness that students and parents can feel, making Jung-gu a place where people want to stay and live because of its education."
ken@heraldcorp.com
