Principal and Residents Kneel Before Each Other in Tearful Pleas: What Happened?

[Anchor]

At Yeomyung School in Seoul, an alternative educational institution for North Korean defector youth, a scene unfolded where the principal and local residents knelt before each other in desperate appeals. Over plans to construct a school building in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, conflicts are intensifying between the school, which is pleading for the students to be accepted, and residents who oppose it.

Reporter Kim A-young covered this story.

[Reporter]

As a woman wearing a light blue jacket drops to her knees, attendees on the opposing side rush to kneel down as well.

["Please, just leave (this place). Really. (Everyone, we must kneel down, too.)"]

This was a residents' briefing held yesterday (September 17) evening at Yeomyung School, an alternative school for North Korean defector youth located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

The woman who knelt first is the school's principal, and those who knelt alongside her are local residents.

The school pleaded for residents to accept the construction of a permanent school building on the site of a closed school in Gangseo-gu, while nearby residents adamantly stood their ground in opposition.

["Oppose! Oppose!"]

Yeomyung School, which currently educates about 100 students, has been temporarily leasing and using this closed school facility since August 2023.

With the temporary lease set to expire in February next year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and relevant authorities began pursuing a plan to construct a permanent building on the same site.

The plan proposes building the Seoul Early Childhood Education Promotion Institute on 90% of the site and Yeomyung School on the remaining 10%, while separating pedestrian traffic between the two facilities. However, neighboring residents insist that only the Early Childhood Education Promotion Institute should be built.

[Mr. Lee / Head of the Emergency Committee Opposing Yeomyung School Construction: "(The education office) promised our residents that it was for temporary use when (Yeomyung School) moved in. No facility other than an early childhood facility for young children should be allowed. (Hear, hear!)"]

There are also some residents who support establishing a permanent home for Yeomyung School.

[Mr. Kim / Resident in favor: "It is not as if remarkably different people are gathering (at Yeomyung School). In any case, (I hope people look at this) with an open mind."]

Yeomyung School previously attempted to relocate to Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, in 2019, but that plan fell through due to strong resident opposition.

[Cho Myung-sook / Principal of Yeomyung School: "These are children whom our community needs to embrace, so I really hope people will give them a chance [1.1.9]."]

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated that the location was selected from seven candidate sites after a comprehensive review of project feasibility, adding that it will continue to communicate with local residents.

Video Reporting by Cho Chang-hyun | Video Editing by Choi Jin-hwa
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.