School for Adult Learners Faces Closure After Founder's Death; Students Plead for Help

[Anchor]

A school that has served as a place of learning for adult students for over 70 years is now facing the threat of closure. Under current law, the operating rights of a lifelong education facility cannot be inherited upon the founder's death. Students, now facing the loss of their school, are appealing to the authorities to come up with a solution.

Reporter Je Hee-won has the story.

[Reporter]

At Ilseong Girls' Middle and High School in Seoul, the average age of students is 69.

Every day at 2 p.m., the afternoon classes for these late-blooming students begin.

[Do you have breakfast?]

Whether they are cleaners who have just finished their early morning shifts or grandmothers who have been caring for their grandchildren, they are all students fully immersed in the joy of learning at this moment.

[Ko Yeon-hee / 2nd-year student at Ilseong Girls' High School, 65: There is a saying that the world looks as much as you know. My self-esteem, which used to be low, has been restored, and I am living my life with confidence.]

Starting as a night school in 1953, Ilseong Girls' High School is the first lifelong education facility in Korea to be recognized for granting academic degrees, having produced over 60,000 graduates over the past 74 years.

For those who spent their lives living for others due to war, poverty, and the constraints of being women, this classroom is a space where they can finally fulfill their long-held dreams.

[Hong Myeong-soo / 2nd-year student at Ilseong Girls' Middle School, 64: I had an older brother and a younger brother. In the past, people prioritized educating their sons. I was determined to send my three children to four-year universities, no matter what. I saw them all get married and start their own lives. Then I thought about what I wanted to do for myself, and it was studying.]

Following the passing of the founder, Principal Lee Sun-jae, last month, the school is now at risk of closing its doors in February 2028.

Under current law, if a lifelong education facility established by an individual loses its founder, the operating rights cannot be transferred. To maintain the school, the bereaved family must establish a public interest foundation, but the significant financial requirements and the complex licensing process pose major obstacles.

Due to these legal limitations, there are 10 such lifelong education facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area currently facing the threat of closure.

[Jo Hyeon-bun / Teacher at Ilseong Girls' High School for 26 years: They listen with such bright, sparkling eyes, trying to absorb every single word. It is heartbreaking to think that the school might close when there are so many students who are so eager to learn.]

The 950 students and staff members have recently filed a national petition, calling for alternatives such as entrusting the school's operation to a public interest foundation rather than facing unilateral closure.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has also stated that it plans to consult with the Ministry of Justice to pursue amendments to the Public Interest Corporation Act.

(Reported by Kang Si-woo | Video by Park Na-young | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun and Lee So-jeong)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.