Busan is good

Foreign school now in session

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New international school will offer classes for expats and Koreans who have lived abroad

 

The Busan International Foreign School (www.isbusan.org) is slated to open on Aug. 23, offering residents from abroad who live in the southeastern part of the country a new educational option for their children.

The initial opening ceremony will be held next month after the first classes start.  The 29,909-square-meter school is located in Nae-ri, Gijang-eup in Gijang County. Construction on the 46.9 billion won ($39.5 million) structure began in November 2008.

The five-story building, which includes an underground floor, has 36 classrooms as well as music room, gym, soccer field and tennis courts. The Busan International Foreign School offers foreign children the full spectrum of primary education, from pre-school through high school.

 

In addition to foreigners, the school is also geared toward Korean students who have lived abroad for more than three years. The portion of the student body that can be Korean, however, is capped at 30 percent. Classes will be taught in English, though the school will also offer Spanish courses.

Annual tuition is 20 million won for high school students and about 10 million won for pre-schoolers. The school can accept up to 720 students.

 

Tore Jacobsen, a former honorary consulate of Norway and founder of the International School of Busan, will run the new school. 

“We expect that opening the Busan International Foreign School will provide a much-improved educational environment for the children of many of our foreign residents and a better quality of life,” said an official from the city’s international relations division.

“As a result, this will also help attract more foreign investment to Busan.”  Busan is currently home to two other foreign schools where English is the primary language, two more focusing on Chinese students and one Japanese school.

 

These schools also provide pre-school through high school education. A total of 751 students are studying at the five schools. 

Busan has realized the need for improving its educational infrastructure for foreigners, which is key for luring business operations of international companies that are based abroad. The city has been promoting international foreign schools since 2006.

 

Additionally, the city invited foreign government officials, parents and CEOs of foreign companies to Busan on May 10 to check out the school and provide their opinions on it before the grand opening.

 

The source of news: Dynamic Busan