The Neighborhood School Everyone Else Attends: 'My Child Cannot Go'

Jun-seo, a 7-year-old this year, lives in a dense apartment complex in the Seoul metropolitan area. This area is one of the premier residential zones in the capital region, developed as a large-scale new town. Right in front of Jun-seo's apartment main gate is an elementary school with an enrollment capacity of about 1,000 students. This elementary school also has an affiliated kindergarten. However, Jun-seo was unable to attend this kindergarten. Jun-seo, who has autism spectrum disorder, is eligible for special education and wanted to attend a kindergarten with a special class, but there were no available spots in this school's kindergarten special class.

A few years have passed, and Jun-seo, facing elementary school enrollment next year, is knocking on this school's door once again. This elementary school has one special class. The statutory class size limit for an elementary school special class is six students per class. However, this school currently has seven enrolled students. This means it is an "overcrowded class" that has exceeded the statutory limit. Even so, Jun-seo's parents submitted an application in June and chose this school as their first choice. For working parents of a child with disabilities, a "neighborhood school with a special class" was a hope they could not give up.


"From a parent's perspective, having a school right in front of the house is truly great, whether it's a special class or a general class. If something happens, you can run over right away. You also worry less about the child commuting to and from school. Any parent would want to send their child to a close school. I knew (the neighborhood school) was at full capacity. But this school was considerate enough to allow a personal care assistant into the classroom. Not every school does that. Many schools dislike it. Since that was such a huge advantage, I put this school as our first choice, hoping for a miracle." (Jun-seo's mother)

However, a "miracle" is unlikely to happen. In addition to being an overcrowded class that exceeds the statutory quota, there is not a single sixth-grader graduating this year in this school's special class. In other words, unless someone from another grade transfers out to create an opening, or the school adds another special class, it is practically difficult to accept new special education students this year. Jun-seo's parents are well aware of this situation.

"For our second choice, we listed the school where his current kindergarten is located, but it takes 20 to 30 minutes by car. Right now, my husband is on parental leave and gives him rides, but that won't be possible starting next year. To us, second, third, and fourth choices were practically meaningless. I never imagined that sending my child to the neighborhood school would be such a difficult task."

It was previously reported that parents of children eligible for special education wander across the country in search of schools due to a shortage of special schools. When unable to enter a special school, students eligible for special education, including students with disabilities, can apply to special classes in general schools. As of last year, 57.2% of all special education recipients were being educated in special classes at general schools. Is admission to special classes any easier, then? Are they able to choose according to their educational needs? Unfortunately, they are not.

SBS filed information disclosure requests with 10 district offices of education under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education regarding the status of elementary school special classes within their jurisdictions (as of July 1). There are 609 elementary schools in Seoul. Among them, 448 schools, or about 70%, have special classes installed. The total number of classes is 815. The number of students belonging to these classes is 3,982. The average number of students per class is about 4.9. This is below the statutory quota of six. Was the talk about overcrowded special classes being a problem just an unnecessary concern?

"Averages" always hold a trap. Analyzing the data by region clearly reveals the reality. The area with the highest rate of overcrowded special classes in Seoul is the Seongdong-Gwangjin district. Out of a total of 36 schools, special classes in 15 schools had more students than their quota. The overcrowding rate exceeding the quota stands at 41.7%. Elementary School A has two special classes, but enrollment reached 19 students, far exceeding the quota (12 students). Elementary School B also had 10 students in a single class (quota of 6). (For reference, there is only a single special school in the Seongdong-Gwangjin district.)


The next most concentrated area is the Gangnam-Seocho district. Among 43 schools with special classes, 16 schools are overcrowded, representing a rate of 37.2%. Elementary School C has 9 students in one class (quota of 6), and Elementary School D has 14 students across two classes (quota of 12). In the case of Elementary School D, talks of consolidation with nearby Elementary School E have continued for years due to declining student enrollment. While the overall student population has shrunk to the point where school closures are being considered, special classes remain "overcrowded"—an ironic situation unfolding in the middle of Gangnam.

Parents say that special classes are also subject to "word of mouth." A parent sending a child to a special class at an elementary school in Seocho said they moved from Yangcheon-gu after learning that this school runs two special classes divided into lower and upper grades, unlike other neighboring schools. "Popular places (for special classes) become even more crowded. I have even seen cases where families move following a specific teacher's transfer."
  The reporter filed information disclosure requests with offices of education in Seoul and Incheon. In Gyeonggi Province, where data on special classes is relatively well-disclosed by regional offices of education, the reporter analyzed the available materials and conducted telephone interviews. While Seoul, with the largest population, experienced the most severe overcrowding, the situation was similar in Gyeonggi and Incheon. However, education office officials consistently shared one common view during the reporting: "While it is true that classes remain overcrowded, looking at the trend, demand for special education is gradually decreasing."

An official from an office of education in Incheon said: "Currently, the overall number of special education recipients is growing, but looking solely at elementary schools, it has started to decrease gradually. We view it as having entered an overall downward trend. In five or six years, it will likely drop significantly. As birth rates decline, the incidence rate of children with disabilities also drops. As elementary students decrease, middle school students will decrease later on as well, right? Although overcrowding is a widespread reality right now, we expect overcrowded areas to gradually diminish." According to the Ministry of Education, the proportion of overcrowded special classes exceeding the quota dropped from 10.1% (1,882 classes) in 2024 to 3.8% (742 classes) in 2025. The decline in overcrowded special classes is partly due to population decline, as the education official noted, but also because the supply of special classes is (gradually) increasing. Furthermore, when adding classes is difficult, assigning two homeroom teachers to a single class is also being utilized as a method to reduce "immediate overcrowding."

Yet, something is being overlooked. Professor Kim Ki-ryong of Joongbu University, who attended a forum titled "Lost Special Education, Finding Paths on the Ground" organized by the Special Teachers Union at the National Assembly on August 11, pointed out that attention must be paid to the rising "unassigned rate." According to Professor Kim, the number of applicants for special education grew from 40,203 in 2021 to 51,896 in 2025, but the proportion placed in their applied schools fell over the last five years from 93.8% to 87.5%. In particular, the placement rate for elementary schools was the lowest at 84%. Even in 2025, when overcrowding decreased significantly, as many as 6,605 students could not attend their desired schools.

"This does not mean these students received no special education at all, but rather that they had to accept placements away from where they lived or away from their preferred schools. From the perspective that inclusive education should take place locally, this is a separate failure. (Omitted) Just because overcrowding metrics have improved does not mean the actual conditions have improved to the same degree. Overcrowding indicators (from education authorities) only show how concentrated students are; they do not measure the heavy workloads borne by teachers or whether students received education where they wanted." (Professor Kim Ki-ryong, Joongbu University)

During the forum, Professor Kim also proposed that the law should require education authorities to disclose not only the number of students per class in overcrowding indicators, but also the placement rate relative to applications and the number of students assigned per teacher.

Another common frustration voiced by parents interviewed during reporting was that it is a "blind admissions process." Applications are submitted in June of the year before enrollment for both special schools and special classes, but results are not received until November, and nobody knows why their child was rejected while another child was accepted. Aside from the basic criterion of "placement near home," parents lamented that they do not know what else to do to get assigned to a desired school, and even after receiving the results, they do not clearly understand why admissions were granted or denied.

The selection of special education recipients and placement into special schools and special classes up to middle school are determined through evaluations by the Special Education Steering Committee under each Special Education Support Center. (For high schools, this is handled by regional offices of education.) However, significant discrepancies in operational methods and evaluation standards across different regions have long been criticized. Parents argued that it is unreasonable for outcomes to differ based on where one lives or when one applies, even for children with the same level of disability.

During reporting, it was confirmed that the National Institute of Special Education recognized these issues, conducted research last year, developed a manual for the selection and placement of special education recipients, distributed it to Special Education Support Centers nationwide, and conducted training for related personnel. It was also found that parts of this manual are publicly available on the National Institute of Special Education website. The reporter also obtained and read the entire manual, which spans 110 pages. How binding is this manual? An official from the National Institute of Special Education stated, "Although we distributed the manual, each region faces different circumstances, so it is difficult to demand unconditional compliance. Ultimately, decisions rest with each regional office of education."
  Jun-seo's parents do not plan to defer school enrollment (postpone admission) even if he cannot attend the neighborhood school next year. They believe they cannot constantly "defer" in the face of the worldly difficulties Jun-seo will encounter ahead. Yet, hearts grow heavy when worrying about having to send their child to a school 20 to 30 minutes away by car, finding a personal care assistant to accommodate this, and wondering whether their child will adjust well to school life. "I don't want to avoid it, but it's heartbreaking because it feels like the world keeps telling me to avoid it."

Watching Jun-seo's parents force a smile brought an ache to one's heart.

References: Ministry of Education Special Education Statistics (2025)
Discussion Forum Materials for 'Lost Special Education, Finding Paths on the Ground' (August 11, 2026)

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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.