"54 Unused Closed Schools Offered for Free Lease... Gyeongbuk Office of Education Invites Applications for Public Use Projects"

Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) announced on the 3rd that it will conduct the '2024 Closed School Utilization Project Contest' from the 8th until July 9th to promote the use of increasing closed school properties.

The contest, first launched in the second half of last year, will continue this year to discover various ways to utilize closed schools and to generate fresh and creative ideas through collaboration with local governments and community groups, thereby increasing the utilization of closed schools.

Closed Schools in the Gyeongbuk Region

As of the end of June, there are 54 unused closed schools in the Gyeongbuk region, distributed across 19 out of 22 cities and counties, excluding Mungyeong, Cheongdo, and Yecheon.

Eligible applicants are local community groups or local governments wishing to utilize closed schools for public purposes or to revitalize the local economy. Individuals are excluded from applying due to the nature of the project.

Applications and business plans must be submitted to the Finance Division of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education by mail or email.

After reviewing the suitability of applicants, the appropriateness of the intended use, feasibility, and effectiveness of the project, a first round of document screening and a second round of in-person interviews will be conducted. Projects selected by the end of August can utilize the closed schools for public or communal purposes?such as income-generating facilities, shared-use facilities, support facilities for returning farmers, rural residents, or fishermen, and facilities for producing local specialty products?free of charge and without rental fees, as originally planned.

Meanwhile, ahead of the application period, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education is actively promoting successful examples of closed school utilization, such as using Suryun Elementary School’s Myeongnyun Branch in Seongju-gun as an income-generating facility for local residents and Beopjeon Middle School in Bonghwa-gun as a welfare facility for the elderly, hoping to encourage diverse and substantial proposals.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of Gyeongbuk Office of Education, stated, “Through the 2024 Gyeongbuk Office of Education Closed School Utilization Project Contest, we will transform closed schools into spaces that contribute to lifelong education, welfare opportunities, income improvement for local residents, and further regional development, fostering coexistence with the community.”