Special Schools Are Too Far Away: Data on the Seojin School Controversy
When parents of disabled students knelt before residents opposing a special school, the question became: are there really not enough special schools? The data answers.
Next to the elementary school I attended was a special school.
As kids, we barely registered it was there — until we were told by adults not to walk near it. And eventually the kids who knew better started using the school's name as a slur. As if disability were contagious.
Once, walking past the school, I saw a battered van leave. Through the window, a child looked at me. I looked away without thinking. I've never forgotten that.
The Seojin School controversy began when a video circulated of parents of disabled children kneeling before residents opposing the construction of a special school in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The residents claimed the school would lower property values. The parents were begging for their children's right to an education.
I looked at the data.
How many students need special education?
As of 2017 (Ministry of Education statistics): 87,950 students require special education — 1.36% of all students. In a school of 400, that's 5 students.
How many special schools are there?
174 nationally. If all 87,950 special education students attended special schools, that's 517 students per school. Special schools have small class sizes for a reason: Seoul Gwahwa School for the hearing-impaired has a capacity of 19. Gwangseong Haneulbit School has a capacity of 24.
In practice, many students attend general schools' special classrooms. But even counting only enrolled students, over 25% of special schools nationally are overenrolled (200+ students). Some have 300+.
The Seoul situation
Seoul has 12,804 special education students. The combined capacity of Seoul's 30 special schools: 4,300. About 8,500 students (65%) attend general schools' special programs because there is no room for them in special schools.
Eight districts in Seoul have no special school at all.
Students in those districts must commute to other districts. Some travel 15 km one-way in peak traffic — 90 minutes each way. Every day.
Why don't parents just send disabled children to general schools? International organizations recommend inclusive education. But Korea's Human Rights Commission reports that most incidents of discrimination and abuse against disabled students occur in general schools.
One parent: "I thought general school would be the last chance for my child to be with regular kids. We tried. Neither of us could adapt. We transferred to a special school after months on the waiting list."
Receiving an education is a constitutional right in Korea. The government has an obligation to ensure citizens can be educated close to where they live. Disabled children are not exempt.
The Seojin School controversy was not about one school in Gangseo. It was about a society that, decades after passing disability rights laws, still asks parents to kneel for their children's right to learn nearby.