Jeonbuk Office of Education Announces 'Eoullim School' Contest to Save Small Schools

Urban-Rural Schools, Creating Win-Win Educational Conditions

Rural Schools Facing Regional Decline... Bridging the Educational Gap

Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education (Superintendent Seo Geoseok) announced on the 3rd that it will promote the '2025 Eoullim School Contest' to revitalize small rural schools and improve educational conditions.

According to the provincial Office of Education, Eoullim Schools are a major policy of Jeonbuk education, providing high-quality educational opportunities to students in rural areas. They support the normal operation of the curriculum by attracting students to schools struggling with small class sizes.

This year, a total of 147 Eoullim Schools are in operation. By type, there are 97 schools in the city/county joint school district type, 23 schools in the inter-city/county joint school district type, 20 schools in the curriculum cooperation type, and 7 schools in the school-village cooperation type.

In the context of Jeonbuk education, expanding and operating Eoullim Schools as part of saving small schools is the trend. Among the 766 schools in the province, 314 schools, accounting for 41.1%, are small schools with fewer than 60 students, of which 299 are located in rural areas.

Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education building. [Photo by Jeonbuk Office of Education]

Starting this year, the Office of Education reflected field opinions and fully implemented the metropolitan-type Eoullim School as an inter-city/county joint school district type to resolve difficulties in attracting students to small schools in border areas between cities and counties.

Currently, joint school district operation has shifted from a 1:1 model between small and large schools to a 1:2 model within the Jeonju development district starting next year. This is expected to secure flexibility in student inflow from oversized schools to small schools and contribute to improving learning conditions in oversized schools.

Additionally, the direction of student inflow has been expanded not only from towns (eup) to rural areas (myeon) but also by lifting restrictions on movement between schools in different towns (eup). Accordingly, schools facing difficulties in applying for Eoullim Schools due to differences in school size by location are expected to be relieved. The accountability of individual schools in operating Eoullim Schools will also be enhanced. Schools reapplying for the contest must submit evaluation materials on Eoullim School operation, which will be used as review materials.

Schools wishing to operate '2025 Eoullim Schools' should complete the application documents and submit them to the relevant education support office by the 15th. After review by the education support office’s Eoullim School selection committee, the provincial Office of Education will select the final target schools by the end of August.

Im Gyeongjin, Director of the Education Cooperation Division, said, "Supporting schools weakened by educational disparities between schools and regions is important to respond to regional extinction and to establish a foundation for rural schools to be revisited." He added, "Through the operation of Eoullim Schools, we will strengthen communication with the field and support schools to create a win-win educational environment between urban and rural schools and revitalize regional education."