Empty Classrooms Amid Low Birthrate Shock...153 Schools Closed in 5 Years

As Many as 120 Elementary Schools Have Disappeared

Due to the impact of the low birth rate and the resulting sharp decline in the school-age population, more than 150 schools have closed over the past five years.

Children on their way home from an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dongju

According to the "Status of Elementary, Middle, and High School Consolidations and Closures" submitted by the Ministry of Education to People Power Party lawmaker Park Sunghoon, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, on the 17th, a total of 153 schools were closed between 2021 and 2025 due to consolidation. By school level, elementary schools accounted for the largest number with 120, followed by 24 middle schools and 9 high schools.

By region, Jeonnam and Gangwon each saw 26 schools close, the highest number among all regions. They were followed by Jeonbuk (21 schools), Chungnam (17 schools), Gyeongbuk (16 schools), Gyeonggi (15 schools), and Gyeongnam (9 schools), clearly showing that the crisis of regional extinction is also manifesting in the field of education.

Looking at the yearly trend, the wave of "mass school closures" has continued, with 41 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, and 3 high schools closing just last year.

This trend is attributed directly to the steep decline in the number of students. The number of elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide fell from 5,323,075 in 2021 to 5,015,310 last year, a decrease of nearly 310,000.

Lawmaker Park stressed, "While school consolidation is in some respects unavoidable due to the shrinking school-age population, the decision to consolidate must be made with great caution, as it is very difficult to return a school site to educational use once it has been abolished. In the end, over the long term, what matters most is to prepare fundamental measures that can break the population decline trend itself."