Muhak Girls' High School Confirmed to Transition to Coed Next Year; Alumni Association Says It Cannot Accept

▲ Alumni members of the emergency committee against the transition of Muhak Girls' High School to a coeducational school hold a protest in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 20th.

Muhak Girls' High School in Seoul, an all-girls institution with an 86-year tradition, has been confirmed to transition to a coeducational school despite fierce opposition from its general alumni association.

The alumni association is considering hardline responses, including legal action.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that Muhak Girls' High School will be converted into a coeducational school starting next year.

Along with Muhak Girls' High School, eight schools in Seoul, including Hwigyeong Girls' High School, Songgok High School, Jeongwon Girls' Middle School, and Seongsim Girls' Middle School, will be switched to coeducational status.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that the decision was made after comprehensively reviewing student placement plans, assignment conditions, the necessity of the coed transition, and deliberations by the school steering committees for the schools that applied.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide 240 million won in operating expenses and 60 million won in labor costs to each of the eight schools confirmed for the coed transition.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education expects that this coed transition will resolve operational difficulties faced by schools due to the declining school-age population and expand students' options in choosing schools.

However, in the case of Muhak Girls' High School, opposition sentiment remains strong among the alumni association and current students.

After the school applied for the coed transition, graduates of Muhak Girls' High School formed an emergency committee against the coeducational transition and have continued holding protest rallies.

The graduates also recently met with Seoul Superintendent of Education Jeong Geun-sic and emphasized that if the coed transition is not nullified, they will mobilize all possible means to fight against it.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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