Abandoned schools become community lifelines as towns battle population decline
Declining birth rates and rapid rural depopulation across Korea have left hundreds of neighborhood schools standing empty, silent monuments to a shifting demographic landscape. But instead of leaving these idle facilities to decay into local eyesores, regional authorities are increasingly turning closed campuses into vital community lifelines. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the…
Korea's rural areas are facing population decline as fewer children are being born and people are moving away from the countryside. As a result, many neighborhood schools have become abandoned buildings, left to deteriorate and become an eyesore in local communities. However, instead of letting these idle facilities fall into disrepair, regional authorities are finding new uses for them to benefit their towns and cities.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Education recently announced the winners of the government's first competition for repurposing closed schools. Out of 62 submissions across the country, seven projects received financial grants and national recognition, demonstrating how innovative adaptive reuse can help rural communities tackle population decline while providing urban centers with new cultural resources.
The top honor, the Prime Minister's Award, was given to Tongyeong Board of Education in South Gyeongsang Province for transforming the former Yongho Branch of Hansan Elementary School into a public cat protection and adoption center. The idea for this project was proposed by residents of the island, who saw the potential to give the abandoned school a new purpose.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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