Special Schools Are Too Far Away: What the Data Says About the Seojin School Controversy

Special Schools Are Too Far Away: What the Data Says About the Seojin School Controversy

Next to the elementary school I attended as a child in the countryside, there was a special school. Day to day, we were barely conscious it existed — but occasionally adults would tell us not to walk near it. And gradually, the kids who were old enough to know better started using the school's name as a slur, as if disability were a disease. They used it as shorthand, a brand name for anything they wanted to belittle.

Once, I happened to walk past the school and saw an old van pull out through the gate. Children were pressed against the windows. One of them caught my eye — and without thinking, I looked away. Why did I look away?

The special school controversy has been burning. I'm talking about the proposed school tentatively named Seojin School, planned for the former site of Gongjin Elementary School in Gyang-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The spark was a video of parents of disabled students kneeling before residents opposed to the school's construction. A wave of criticism about local protectionism followed, along with online petitions demanding the school be built. Questions were raised about a politician's opportunistic promises, and claims that "special schools lower property values" were challenged as factually false.

Meanwhile, local residents raised their own concerns about equity with other districts. "Gangseo-gu already has one special school — why does it need another?" And many said: "I've heard there's a shortage of special schools, but I genuinely don't know if that's true." So I looked at the actual data.

Q. How many students need special education?

Due to low birth rates, the total number of students enrolled in schools (from kindergarten through high school) has been declining. Five years ago there were 7.823 million students; this year it's 6.469 million — a drop of 1.354 million. Meanwhile, the number of students requiring special education (students with disabilities) has risen to 87,950 this year — up 2,938 from five years ago. These students represent 1.36% of all enrolled students. In a school of 400 students, roughly 5 would be students requiring special education. (Source: Special Education Statistics, April 2017)

Q. How many special schools serve those 87,950 students?

You'll have seen students with disabilities at school. They need individualized education matched to their level of disability. That's why Seoul Gwahwa School (for the hearing-impaired) has a capacity of just 19 students, and Gwangseong Haneulbit School (for students with intellectual disabilities) has a capacity of 24. But there are only 170 special schools nationwide (174 as of September). If all 87,950 disabled students were to attend special schools, that would be 517 students per school. Could any meaningful education happen at that scale?

In practice, many disabled students attend general schools. But even counting only those currently enrolled in special schools, the system is already overloaded. 43 schools (25.3%) have more than 200 students — well beyond capacity. Four schools — in Incheon Michuhol, Daejeon Gawon, Gumi Hyedang, and Gyeongnam Hyerim — have more than 300 students.

In Seoul, eight schools have more than 200 students enrolled.

Seoul, in particular, has high concentrations of disabled students due to its rehabilitation facilities and hospitals. There are currently 12,804 students in Seoul requiring special education. But the combined capacity of Seoul's 30 special schools is only around 4,300. Eight schools are already overenrolled at 200+ students. About 8,500 students (65%) have no choice but to attend general school special classrooms or integrated classrooms, whether they want to or not.

Q. Isn't attending a general school actually better?

International bodies like the UN recommend inclusive education in general schools rather than separate special schools. The argument is that disabled students develop social skills by mixing with non-disabled peers, while general students shed prejudices. But in Korea, many parents prefer special schools over general ones — because the risk of rights violations is high, and genuine one-on-one specialized instruction is difficult to get in a general school. The National Human Rights Commission's reports show that most cases of discrimination and rights violations against disabled students occur in general schools. Peers use slurs, bully, and exclude them.

"I thought general school would be the last chance for my child to be around regular kids. So I sent them there — and in the end, neither of us could adapt. We waited months and eventually had to transfer to a special school." — Parent L.

Q. How do disabled students actually get to school?

Eight of Seoul's 25 districts — Dongdaemun, Jungnang, Seongdong, Jung, Yongsan, Yangcheon, Yeongdeungpo, and Geumcheon — have no special school at all.

There are 2,873 special education students living in these eight districts. Of those, 732 who would otherwise attend special schools must commute to other districts for their education.

Even districts that do have special schools face similar problems. Schools may be full, or there may be no school that matches the type of disability, forcing students to commute elsewhere. Special schools are divided into five types by disability category: visual, hearing, physical, emotional, and intellectual. Seoul has only two schools for visual impairment and three for emotional disability. A student with a visual impairment living in Songpa-gu, for example, has no choice but to travel to Seoul School for the Blind in Jongno-gu or Hanbit School for the Blind in Gangbuk-gu.

Q. Are long commutes really common?

Yes. Many students commute one to two hours each way as a matter of course. Take Dongdaemun-gu, which has no special school.

All 86 students from Dongdaemun-gu who attend special schools commute to other districts.

There are 373 students in Dongdaemun-gu who require special education. Of those, 86 (23.1%) attend special schools — roughly one in four — receiving properly matched, individualized instruction. But their commutes are long and difficult. Twenty-three students (26.7%) attend Seoul Gwangjin School in neighboring Gwangjin-gu, the closest option. Others commute across Seoul — to Seoul Samsung School (hearing-impaired) in Dongjak-gu, Jumong School (intellectual and physical disabilities) in Gangdong-gu, Seoul Jeongae School (emotional disabilities) in Gangnam-gu. Three students even commute to Korea Ujin School (physical disabilities) near Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu — roughly 15 km by the shortest route, or 90 minutes one way in peak traffic.

Other districts face similar situations.

In Jungnang-gu, 145 students with special school enrollment commute to other districts. The most popular destination, Seoul Dongcheon School in Nowon-gu (55 students, 37.9%), is 5.6 km away — an average of 30 minutes. Others commute to Seoul Gwangjin School in Gwangjin-gu (34 students, 23.4%) and Seoul Jeongmin School in Nowon-gu (35 students, 24.1%). Some travel as far as Jumok School in Gangdong-gu, Seoul School for the Blind in Jongno-gu, Seoul School for the Deaf, and Hanbit School for the Blind in Gangbuk-gu.

In Yangcheon-gu, 175 of the 554 students who require special education commute to other districts — 90 to Seoul Jeongjin School and 39 to Sung Peter School, both in Guro-gu, and 22 to Gyonam School in Gangseo-gu. Some travel even further, to schools in Jongno-gu.

There is another way to understand this data. A graph comparing the proportion of students attending special schools in districts that have special schools versus those that don't reveals a clear pattern: students in districts without special schools are far less likely to be enrolled in them. This reflects families who give up on special school placement — or those who relocate to districts where special schools exist.

Dr. Kim Seung-beom of CodeNamu, who conducted the data analysis and visualization, noted: "Moving to a district with a special school might seem like a solution, but a family's address is tied to jobs, support networks, and countless other factors that can't easily be changed. The government has an obligation to guarantee the right to education close to home."

Q. What is the situation in Gangseo-gu, where this controversy arose?

Gangseo-gu has Gyonam School (intellectual disabilities, capacity 109 students). But supply does not meet demand. There are 645 students in Gangseo-gu who require special education. Of those, 204 currently attend special schools (the remaining attend general school special or integrated classrooms). Of that 204, only 82 students (12.7% of all special education students in the district) attend the local Gyonam School. The remaining 122 commute to other districts.

Where do Gangseo-gu's disabled students travel for school? Students at Seoul Jeongjin School in Guro-gu (59), Sung Peter School in Guro-gu (11), and Korea Ujin School in Mapo-gu (30) are at least in relatively close districts. Many others commute as far as Jongno-gu and Seongbuk-gu. To reach Hanbit School for the Blind in Seongbuk-gu (for visually impaired students) from Gangseo-gu — 21 km by the shortest route — takes at least 1 hour 45 minutes each way in peak traffic.

---

Does that help make it real? The shortage of special schools, and the grueling long-distance commutes forced on students who simply deserve a proper education nearby — these are not abstractions. Education is both a constitutional right and obligation for Korean citizens. The state has a duty to provide educational facilities close enough to home that citizens can actually access them. Students with disabilities are not exempt from that right.

In the next installment, I plan to look at commuting data for special school students nationwide, and analyze figures from Guro-gu's Jeongjin School — where the highest number of special education students in Seoul are enrolled.