Busan's First Integrated Kindergarten for Children With and Without Disabilities to Open in March... 'Saegyeol Kindergarten' to Launch

Public Standalone Integrated Kindergarten Opens in Eco Delta City
Seven General and Six Special Classes to Be Operated

The first public integrated kindergarten in Busan, where children with and without disabilities learn together, will open soon. The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education is working to establish an integrated education model with the goal of realizing early childhood special education free from prejudice and discrimination.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kim Seokjun) will open the "Saegyeol Kindergarten," a public standalone institution, in Eco Delta City, Gangseo-gu, this March. While there have been cases where special classes were added to public kindergartens, this is the first time in Busan that an integrated kindergarten will open, where children with and without disabilities spend the entire day together throughout the kindergarten schedule.

The integrated kindergarten departs from the previous approach, where children with and without disabilities were educated in separate environments, and instead features a schedule in which they participate together from arrival to departure. The aim is to realize early integrated education and naturally foster the values of mutual respect and empathy.

Saegyeol Kindergarten will operate seven general classes and six special classes for children aged three to five. Unlike most kindergartens, which typically have only one or two special classes, this large-scale special class structure with six classes is expected to enhance both individualized educational support for children with disabilities and the overall quality of integrated education.

General and special classes will be integrated by age group, allowing children with and without disabilities to experience play, daily life, and learning activities together. This approach is intended to strengthen the social adaptability and independence of children with disabilities while providing equal educational opportunities for all children.

The kindergarten will feature a variety of facilities tailored to the characteristics of young children, such as a sensory-motor room and a psychological stability room. School buses will also be provided to improve convenience for arrivals and departures. General and special education teachers will operate the classes together on a full-time cooperative teaching basis, and special education assistants will be assigned to support a play-based curriculum that matches each child's developmental stage.

Kim Seokjun, Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "Saegyeol Kindergarten will serve as a leading model for early childhood integrated education and play a pivotal role in spreading an inclusive educational culture throughout the local community. We will strive to break down the barriers between children with and without disabilities and create an educational environment where all children can naturally play and learn together."