"Moving for Mokdong Academies? No, My Child Takes the Gwangmyeong Route 200 Bus" [New Transportation Refugee Report] 11

Gwangmyeong City Introduces Bus to Mokdong Academy District
Dispersing Education Through Reverse Transportation Design
Route 200 General Seat Bus Established
to Improve Access to School Districts

If transportation has absorbed private education, it is also possible to disperse it through 'reverse design.' Experts point out that, unlike in the past when transportation was designed around regions with concentrated capital and population, there is now a need to focus on 'transportation dispersion' and 'balance' to address disparities.

Gwangmyeong Bus Route 200. Gwangmyeong City News Portal.

The revision of the "Special Act on the Management of Metropolitan Area Transportation in Large Cities" in April is considered a representative attempt to resolve transportation disparities. Enacted in 2007, this law included provisions for national funding for metropolitan transportation facilities to address transportation issues centered on special and metropolitan cities. However, the definition of "large city" only included areas within the same transportation zone as special and metropolitan cities, excluding Jeonbuk and Gangwon. Jeonbuk Province has consistently demanded amendments to the law, citing its annual road traffic congestion costs (about 1.9 trillion won), which exceed those of Daejeon and Ulsan. As a result, the Jeonju area of Jeonbuk has now been included as a metropolitan area, and it is expected that, with the expansion of transportation networks, convenience in commuting, as well as access to education, medical, and cultural facilities, will greatly improve in daily life.

Mokdong Academy District.

Lee Deoknan, advisor to the Korean Society of Educational Law, said, "Regional disparities in transportation create a variety of gaps across all aspects of life, and the gap in educational opportunities is one of them." He added, "The solution can also be found in transportation. If resolving transportation disparities leads to population inflow, business attraction, and revitalization of self-employment in local areas, education will also be able to take root within the region."

There have also been successful cases of reverse utilization, moving away from the idea that transportation simply absorbs surrounding infrastructure. The newly established Route 200 seat bus in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is one such example. To improve access to academic districts, Gwangmyeong City has been operating the Route 200 general seat bus since 2023, directly connecting KTX Gwangmyeong Station to the Mokdong Academy District in Seoul. Although many apartment complexes have been built in the area, no academy district had formed, so people had to go to places like Mokdong. After discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Gwangmyeong City established the Route 200 bus. The city prominently advertised, "It goes all the way to Jongro Academy in Mokdong 7th Complex," emphasizing that with improved transportation, residents could share access to academic districts without having to move to Mokdong.

When the Route 200 bus was planned, it was estimated that about 15,000 people would use it per month, but actual ridership has far exceeded this figure. Song Jieun, an official at the Urban Transportation Division of Gwangmyeong City, said, "The average monthly ridership increased from 18,000 in January last year to 26,000 in May this year. Most of the demand appears to be for the academy district, and we are considering increasing the number of operations to reduce intervals between buses in the future."