International Children and Enrollment in Korean Public Schools

Rachel St. John recently went through a frustrating, but ultimately encouraging process. Her son, J., is seven years old and ready for first grade. But as American international residents of Gwangju, enrolling J. in a Korean public school has proven to be difficult. She explained, “Being a parent is hard enough. Sending your tiny child off to school is absolutely terrifying, and then it becomes this issue of: ‘Well, how do you do it?’”

Along with her husband, Dave, she started acquiring information about enrollment in Korean public schools earlier this year. After two separate agencies said that it could not be done, St. John began to search elsewhere. “Everyone has been really nice and helpful. It is just not very common. Nobody really knows exactly how to do it.”

After an afternoon of continued “no” responses, Rachel wrote a Facebook post expressing her frustrations for J.’s situation. The multiple replies led people to make calls, arrange meetings and offer what assistance they could.

Both the international community and their Korean friends have helped the St. Johns along the way. Some of these individuals were people they knew before starting the process, and others are friendships cultivated through it. St. John said it has been proven to her that it really does take a village to raise a child. She explained, “I feel that we have a metropolitan city of people who are just willing to help. And that has helped a lot to not feel alone.”

Persistence pays, and St. John eventually received an encouraging “yes.” She described to Gwangju News how an elementary school principal, vice-principal and English teacher all enthusiastically agreed to J. attending their school. The principal and other staff members went out of their way to discuss what was expected from students and to also describe the extra programs and support provided to J. Rachel also shared how strange it was for J. to be at such ease while meeting these educators for the first time, since he is so shy around strangers. J. even gave the principal a big hug.

St. John feels that the real issue in this situation was less of a human rights violation and more a lack of information. She says it is typical for bureaucracies to say that things cannot be done because they have never been done before. However, the issue might develop into a human rights dilemma if it is repeated with other families and no system changes.

To avoid these problems, St. John suggested that the paperwork be created now in order to accommodate future children. Her son is part of the first wave of children wanting to enroll in Gwangju Public Schools, but there will be more. St. John noted, “There are dozens of other children under four years old now living in Gwangju, and their parents are staying here.”

St. John also strongly suggested that any parents faced with this situation first seek the help of the Gwangju Ministry of Education. She considers their resources invaluable.

As a member of Global Families of Gwangju Rachel is looking to provide continued resources to international families raising children in Gwangju. With more information, she believes that all international families can receive the assistance they need to successfully enroll their children in Gwangju Public Schools.