Do You Know About the 'Gyeongbuk Online School' That Overcomes Regional Education Gaps?... Established Using a Closed School in Gyeongsan

Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) officially opened the ‘Gyeongbuk Online School’ on the 1st, marking a new chapter in future-oriented education. Established by repurposing the closed Samsung Branch of Namsan Elementary School in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk Online School supports personalized learning tailored to the high school credit system and plans to operate various curricula to bridge educational gaps between regions.

The opening of Gyeongbuk Online School is expected to be a significant turning point in building an open education system that overcomes regional educational disparities and the physical limitations of individual schools and areas. Students can receive high-quality education regardless of where they live and experience education tailored to their career paths and aptitudes through personalized learning.

Classroom scene at Gyeongbuk Online School.

Reflecting the characteristics of the Gyeongbuk region, which has many small schools, Gyeongbuk Online School provides a variety of customized educational opportunities. For example, at Ulleung High School, the easternmost high school in the country, eight students are participating in subjects such as Life and Ethics, Earth Science, Big Data Analysis, and Japanese during the first semester of 2025.

This is seen as an important case of overcoming the limitations of small schools by guaranteeing students broader learning opportunities and choices, thus addressing the constraints on educational opportunities caused by physical location. In addition, although Gyeongbuk Online School operates with a small system of just eight full-time teachers, the number of courses offered, enrolled students, and participating schools all continue to increase, showing rapid growth.

In particular, even before its official opening, more than 1,000 students applied for real-time courses for the first semester of 2025 during a demand survey, establishing the school as one of the leading online education models nationwide.

Gyeongbuk Office of Education plans to continue promoting educational innovation that links online and offline learning and to prepare various educational programs that support the growth of each individual student.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of Gyeongbuk Office of Education, said, “Gyeongbuk Online School is a future-oriented education model that can help each and every student realize their dreams,” adding, “We will actively support all students so that they can enjoy equal educational opportunities beyond the limitations of region and environment.”