[Report] Growing Jeju English Education City, Increasing Housing Construction on Outskirts

Over 5,700 Students and Staff, Housing Facilities Limited if Increased
Hanwha Construction's 'Forena Jeju Edu City' Offers 503 Units for Sale

Jeju English Education City panorama.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Wanyong] Jeju English Education City, the ultimate destination of the domestic "Maengmosamcheonjigyo" that requires crossing the sea. It is a place that anyone who wants to raise their children in the best environment dreams of at least once. As four international schools (St. John's Beria Academy Jeju (SJA), North London Collegiate School Jeju (NLCS), Branksome Hall Asia (BHA), Korea International School Jeju Campus (KIS)) have passed their 10th anniversary since opening, the city has now fully settled.

The range of residential complexes and infrastructure facilities is gradually expanding. Sales news continues to come in. Not only small-scale houses built by general developers but also branded apartments are being introduced. Earlier this year, Daewoo Construction launched the sale of 160 units of 'Jeju Prugio The First,' and recently Hanwha Construction has been selling 503 units of 'Forena Jeju Edu City.'

◆Growing city, plans to increase enrollment quotas and add international schools= To check the current status of Jeju English Education City and the Forena Jeju Edu City sales, we headed to Jeju Island.

The popularity of international schools in Jeju English Education City is sky-high. It is known that each school has over 100 applicants on the waiting list. As the number of students advancing to prestigious overseas universities from Jeju English Education City international schools continues to increase, they are establishing themselves as prestigious international schools. According to the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC), over 90% of graduates from the three international schools operated by its subsidiary, Jains, in the 2021-2022 academic year entered prestigious overseas universities.

The enrollment rate is also at an all-time high. Last August, Jains, a subsidiary of JDC, submitted applications to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education to increase the enrollment quotas of Branksome Hall Asia and North London Collegiate School Jeju by 350 and 304 students, respectively. The total number of students in the four schools is about 5,000. If schools are opened in the H-17 (foreign university) and H-15, 16 (international school) zones, the number of students is expected to increase to about 8,000, further expanding the city.

Korea International School Jeju Campus (KIS) located in Jeju English Education City.
Photo by Cha Wanyong

It took about an hour by car from Jeju Airport to Jeju English Education City located in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City. The closer you get to Jeju English Education City, the more the scenery differs from typical Jeju Island views. It is a unique landscape blending the feel of a metropolitan new town shopping district with the surroundings of Songdo International School. Of course, there are no high-rise buildings like in the metropolitan area. The floor area ratio allowed in the commercial district is limited to 160% (15m, 4 floors), so you can see the blue sky just by slightly looking up.

Store signs and direction signs also have unique characteristics of Jeju English Education City. Many of the shops are filled with academies, and most signs are in English. The direction signs are also written in English.

Entering Jeju English Education City, apartments and detached houses stand out. Perhaps because it is a planned city, the composition and zoning of buildings within the city are generally neat. Since it was a weekday daytime, the apartment complexes and shopping streets were quiet, contrasting with the bustling scenes of students playing on school playgrounds.

◆Touring the Forena Jeju Edu City development site= The housing in Jeju English Education City is estimated to be about 2,900 units, including Samjeong 701 units, Raon 420 units, Haedong 288 units, Hanshin The Hue 548 units, Canons Village 180 units, Hanwha Dream Green 268 units, I-Park 84 units, Namyoung Edu Class 140 units, Inno Edu Town 140 units, and others 100 units. With about 5,000 students attending the four schools, this is insufficient to accommodate the approximately 700 faculty and staff.

Perhaps for this reason, recently, housing construction has continued in the outskirts outside Jeju English Education City. These include Hyundai I-Park 85 units, Ivy 127 units, Huon 68 units, Jeju Prugio The First 160 units, Hanil Invidia 168 units, and Forena Jeju Edu City 503 units.

A panoramic view of the area around 780 Boseong-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si, where Forena Jeju Edu City is being developed. Photo by Hanwha Construction

Among these, the most attention-grabbing is Forena Jeju Edu City. It was the most recently launched for sale and is the only large complex with over 500 units, excluding the rental apartment Hanshin The Hue. Forena Jeju Edu City is a complex being built on 780 Boseong-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City, consisting of 29 buildings from basement level 1 to ground level 5, with exclusive areas ranging from 84 to 210㎡. Move-in is scheduled for January 2025.

We toured the development site. It is located about 5 to 10 minutes by car from Jeju English Education City. The road connecting Forena Jeju Edu City and Jeju English Education City is currently two lanes, raising concerns about congestion during school commute times. However, it was confirmed that this road will soon be expanded to four lanes.

The biggest advantage is the pleasant residential environment. Hanwha Construction announced plans to apply landscaping design covering about 36,000㎡ within Forena Jeju Edu City, which has a total floor area of 117,616㎡ (equivalent to 16 soccer fields). Additionally, it will be developed as a park-type eco-town with no cars on the ground.

Forena Jeju Edu City applies specialized designs for each household. The 84㎡ units have a 4Bay slab-type cross-ventilation structure, providing excellent lighting and ventilation, and the kitchen is equipped with a face-to-face island to facilitate family communication. Ample storage spaces such as pantries, entrance closets, and dressing rooms are provided, and depending on consumer preference, the alpha room and dressing room can be selected as one space or expanded.

The most supplied 99㎡A type is also a 4Bay slab-type with four rooms including a spacious dressing room, and enhanced space utilization with abundant storage. The 136㎡ units offer a 4Bay slab-type cross-ventilation structure, larger entrance closets, and pantries. Notably, they are designed with a 'Two-Way' layout allowing direct access from the entrance to both the living room and auxiliary kitchen.

The interior living room view created in the Forena Jeju Edu City model house.
[Photo by Cha Wanyong]

In particular, the interior ceiling height is designed to be 2.6m, which is 30cm higher than typical apartments, providing an excellent sense of openness. Additionally, Forena's differentiated design includes the use of 250mm soundproofing materials and 60mm cushioning materials to reduce noise between floors.

Lee Joong-seok, sales director at Hanwha Construction met on-site, said, “Forena Jeju Edu City is a rare branded large complex near Jeju English Education City, offering a variety of unit types to broaden consumer choices. As it combines Forena's premium and product competitiveness, inquiries from customers continue steadily.”