[Inside Chodong] A Country Where Parents Must Kneel to Be Heard

There is a country where parents must kneel in order for a school to be built.

During the process of establishing Seongjin School in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, for students with physical disabilities, parents pleaded in tears for their children's "right to survival" and ultimately knelt down. It took seven years just to finalize the plan for the special school. Even though education should not be a subject of political negotiation, the authorities in charge of administration kept stalling the plan, insisting, "We need to hear from the residents."

This is the reality of South Korea in 2025, but it feels reminiscent of something that happened seven or eight years ago. At a resident briefing for the establishment of Seojin School in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, in 2017, there was a shocking scene where parents of students with disabilities and residents opposed to the special school faced each other and both knelt down.

The process of establishing Seongjin School, which was only recently resolved, was far from smooth. At a briefing just three months ago, some residents opposed the school's construction, arguing that a special school should not be built in a densely populated apartment area. The logic of one local resident, who claimed, "Now that Seongdong-gu has become a premium neighborhood, we need to build a premium school," shows that nothing has really changed in South Korea.

The reason why parents' "kneeling pleas" keep recurring lies in a system where the establishment of special schools is easily swayed by resident opposition and political interests. Under current law, when undertaking large-scale development projects, land must be secured for schools, but only for general kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools-special schools are excluded. Because they are not mandatory, the very process of finding land becomes difficult, and projects are delayed for years.

The approach taken by advanced countries such as those in Europe or the United States is markedly different from ours. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities clearly states that "persons with disabilities have the right to receive quality inclusive education on an equal basis with others in the communities where they live." In line with this agreement, European countries are moving toward reducing or closing special schools altogether. Norway and Italy have already eliminated special schools, and Portugal has been converting special schools into inclusive education support centers since 2018.

What about us? With the approach that "separation is consideration," there remains a thick line dividing students with disabilities and those without. In reality, given the entrance exam-focused education system, many parents of students with disabilities themselves prefer separation due to concerns about secondary harm.

If separation is supposed to be consideration, then at the very least, more facilities should be built-but that is not the case. According to Ministry of Education statistics, eight out of Seoul's 25 districts do not have a single special school. Meanwhile, despite a declining school-age population, the number of students designated for special education continues to hit record highs each year. This year, the number of students eligible for special education nationwide has exceeded 120,000, but only one in four attends a special school.

If inclusive education is not feasible in reality, then at the very least, alternatives must be prepared quickly. One way would be to establish a legal basis that allows special schools to be built even in the face of local opposition, or to create community facilities within special schools that residents can jointly manage with the school.

It is also worth considering building new special schools in districts that currently have none, to distribute demand, and expanding special classes within existing schools. Since the establishment of special schools in each district has been an election pledge of education superintendents for over a decade, these solutions are also likely to be effective.

Most important of all is a change in perception. Special schools are not facilities to be built in remote locations. Dongjin School in Jungnang-gu had its site relocated eight times over 12 years, causing parents much distress and delaying the school's opening by a decade. If we try to hide these schools, parents will be forced to kneel somewhere yet again. Coexistence and mutual prosperity are easier and faster to achieve when everyone is in plain sight.