Student population in South Korea expected to fall below 5 million by 2026

Korea’s total number of students in elementary, middle, and high school is expected to fall below 5 million by 2026.

According to a report released Monday by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Educational Development Institute, 5.13 million students will attend elementary, middle, and high school this year.

However, the number is expected to fall to 5.01 million next year and 4.83 million in 2026.

The number of students entering elementary school in Korea is expected to plummet more drastically.

This year, the number of elementary school enrollees fell below 400,000 for the first time in Korea, with 347,950 students enrolling.

Experts also expect the number of elementary school students to fall below 300,000 in two years — 319,935 in 2025, followed by 290,686 in 2026.

The overall population attending elementary school is also expected to plunge.

This year, 2.48 million attended elementary schools, a number that was expected to drop to 2.32 million next year, 2.19 million in 2026, and 2.041 million in 2027.

The number of elementary school students will drop to 1.87 million in 2028, falling below 2 million in four years. In 2029, 1.72 million students are expected to attend elementary school, down 30 percent from this year.

The government decided to reduce the number of public elementary, middle and high school teachers by more than 4,000 this year in line with the decline in the school-age population.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced a partial revision of the national civil service quota rules in local educational institutes and public schools.

According to the revision, the government will reduce the quota by 2,124 teachers for public elementary schools and 2,172 for middle and high school teachers.

In other words, 4,296 teacher spots will be cut this year, a more drastic decrease from previous years, with 1,089 spots cut in 2022 and 3,401 in 2023.

More and more schools will likely be closed due to the decrease in the school-age population, especially outside of Seoul and Gyeonggi.

According to data submitted to Democratic lawmaker Kang Min-jung by 17 local education offices, 27 schools are scheduled to close this year, up from 19 schools last year.

Seoul was no exception regarding the decrease in the school-age population and school closures, though it is the biggest city in Korea.

The number of students eligible to attend elementary school in Seoul this year fell to 59,492, a 10.3 percent decrease from the previous year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it would inform schools subjected to closure or mergers with nearby schools in March or April so the schools, students, and parents can prepare for the changes.

BY SEO JI-WON [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]