추진 of the 'Second Hanmingo' Establishment... Candidate Sites Including Chuncheon and Pohang

Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Education Sign Agreement on Establishing Autonomous Public High Schools

The establishment of a "Second Hanmingo" is being promoted. Hanmingo High School is the first school established in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, for children of military personnel. The Ministry of National Defense has decided to establish high schools for military children in other regions based on this model.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 11th, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho met at Hanmingo on the same day and signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the establishment of autonomous public high schools for children of military personnel.

The newly established high school will be modeled after Hanmingo, which has become a rising prestigious school. However, unlike Hanmingo, which is a boarding private high school, it will take the form of an autonomous public high school established and managed by local governments. While receiving budget support from local governments and regional education offices, the school’s operational autonomy is guaranteed, and it can recruit 100% of its teaching staff. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education plan to select autonomous public high schools for military children from existing high schools through applications and admit new students starting in 2026. Regions such as Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, Pohang and Yeongcheon in Gyeongbuk Province are emerging as strong candidates.

The Ministry of National Defense is said to prefer high schools with dormitory facilities, considering the occupational characteristic of military personnel who frequently relocate. Having dormitories means that even if parents are transferred, military children do not have to change schools.

Hanmingo offers about 350 after-school programs that help develop leadership and learn various foreign languages, and it is reported to have excellent college entrance results. It also selects children of fallen soldiers and helps them adapt well to school life. The number of students per grade at Hanmingo is about 350, of which 70% are children of military personnel serving nationwide, and 30% are selected from graduates of middle schools located in Gyeonggi Province.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education plan to recruit military children nationwide for the newly designated autonomous public high schools for military children and also select general students residing in the metropolitan local governments where the schools are located.

Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik said, "The Ministry of National Defense’s will to improve the poor educational conditions, which is the biggest difficulty for children of military personnel, aligns with the Ministry of Education’s policy on autonomous public high schools," and added, "We will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Education to provide stable educational support for children of military personnel."