Residents' Wish for Library Ignored... Dormitory Planned for Closed School Site [Extinction] ④

Seoul City Prepared a Report on Hwayang Elementary School Utilization in 2021
Seoul City and Office of Education Form a Task Force and Push for Dormitory Construction
Residents' Opposition to Dormitory Ignored
Seoul City and Office of Education Blame Each Other Amid Resident Backlash

Editor's Note"It takes a whole village to raise a child." This is a famous Nigerian proverb. However, the sentence also makes sense when the structure is reversed: To sustain a village, children are needed. This is the current situation in Korean villages. Villages that do not raise children are paying the price. As people stop coming, these places become outdated, dark, and fall into silence. We aim to take a close look at how abandoned schools affect their local communities.

After Hwayang Elementary School in Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul was closed in 2023, it has been revealed that the process of finding a new role for the site did not reflect the opinions of local residents at all. Despite the fact that both the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education collected feedback from residents, they failed to incorporate these opinions into the plan for utilizing the closed school. As a result, when residents’ opposition intensified, the two agencies began shifting responsibility onto each other.

The road near the closed Hwayang Elementary School in 2023. Photo by Yoon Dongju

On May 6, residents living near Hwayang Elementary School expressed strong opposition to the news that a public dormitory would be built on the site of the closed school instead of the Hwayang Future Education and Culture Center, which had been scheduled to open in December 2026. Residents, who had wanted a library and sports facilities, said their opinions had not been reflected at all. They complained that the delayed utilization of the closed school had already caused the surrounding area to lose its vitality, and now the livelihoods of local residents were being threatened as well.

Elderly residents of Hwayang-dong had been making a living by renting rooms to university students in the area. Their main reason for opposing the construction of a dormitory on the closed school site is that it would destroy the retirement plans they had prepared by converting their homes into rental rooms. Park Changok (73, male), a resident of Hwayang-dong, said, "It is important for university students to have places to live, but in the end, they are outsiders who stay for only a few years. No one would welcome a facility that is not for residents and that actually takes away the main source of income for locals."

In the decision-making process for how to utilize the closed school, residents' opinions were pushed aside. The Seoul Metropolitan Government had already anticipated the closure of Hwayang Elementary School and in 2021 commissioned a report titled "Establishment of Models and Basic Plans for School Relocation (Planned) Sites and Closed School Utilization." The Office of Education also held nine rounds of consultations to discuss how to utilize the closed school.

The commissioned study included proposals for public housing or industrial complex facilities as potential uses. Regarding the construction of public housing on the Hwayang Elementary School site, the report explained, "Given the large number of one- and two-person households in the area, as well as good metropolitan accessibility including Konkuk University and Sejong University, public housing should be developed," and, "The plan should harmonize with the surrounding low-rise residential neighborhoods."

Of course, the report also included the fact that residents wanted living social overhead capital (SOC) facilities. The report stated that, according to a survey of parents conducted from January 4 to 6, 2021, regarding the consolidation of Hwayang Elementary School, there was a desire to expand facilities such as a local library, student experience center, community sports space, parking lot, and park. Gwangjin-gu District Office also proposed creating an urban park, a public library, and a fitness center.

However, last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Ministry of Education, the Office of Education, and Gwangjin-gu formed a working group and developed a plan to build a "Happy Dormitory." The Happy Dormitory is a project by the Korea Foundation for the Promotion of Private School, a public institution under the Ministry of Education, to provide affordable dormitories for university students. The Office of Education held meetings with residents in December last year and March this year to persuade them. An official from the Office of Education said, "We are continuing to discuss public housing with the Seoul Metropolitan Government through the working group."

"Dormitory that takes away our income"... Residents protest as Seoul City and Office of Education avoid responsibility

As resident opposition to the utilization of the closed school intensified, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Office of Education began to avoid responsibility. An official from the Office of Education said, "Originally, the Office of Education and Gwangjin-gu had planned to build the Hwayang Future Education and Culture Center on the closed school site, but Gwangjin-gu gave up due to lack of funds. After that, the Seoul Metropolitan Government proposed a public dormitory, and the Office for Government Policy Coordination selected the Hwayang Elementary School site in consultation with related agencies. The Office of Education did not have the authority to make the final decision."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, on the other hand, argued that the Office of Education is responsible for deciding how to utilize the closed school, since it has the authority to manage the site. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, "It is the Office of Education that establishes plans for utilizing closed schools," and, "The problems that have arisen in the process of building the Happy Dormitory on the Hwayang Elementary School site, as well as the opposition from residents, are matters that the Office of Education must handle." However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also added, "At this point, the agencies involved with the Hwayang Elementary School site are in the process of coordinating. We will try to ensure that residents' expectations regarding the use of the closed school site are properly reflected."

The closed Huayang Elementary School, which was shut down in 2023, is now being used as the Seongdong Gwangjin Learning Center. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Experts pointed out that unless the authorities promoting the utilization of closed schools actively communicate with local residents, they will inevitably continue to face opposition. Song Gichang, professor emeritus of education at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "Public facilities such as schools have great significance for their communities. It is natural for residents to oppose plans that do not bring benefits to areas where schools have disappeared," and, "There is no special know-how for resolving such conflicts. Ultimately, local governments and residents need to communicate frequently and find common ground through dialogue."