50 schools in South Korea are closed due to birth crisis

South Korea is bracing for another wave of school closures in 2025 as the nation’s school-age population continues to dwindle, according to new data from the Ministry of Education.

Figures submitted to Representative Jin Sun-mi of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea reveal that 49 elementary, middle, and high schools across 17 cities and provinces will shut down next year due to falling enrolments.

The trend of school closures has been accelerating in recent years, rising from 22 in 2023 to 33 in 2024, and now nearly 50 in 2025. The vast majority—88 percent—of the affected schools are located in rural areas, deepening concerns about the widening educational divide between urban centers like Seoul and the country’s more remote regions.

While no schools in Seoul are on the closure list, rural provinces are facing severe impacts. South Jeolla Province is set to lose the highest number of schools (10), followed by South Chungcheong (9), North Jeolla (8), and Gangwon (7). Gyeonggi Province, home to a significant portion of the country’s population, will see six closures.

Of the 49 schools slated for shutdown, elementary schools account for the majority (38), followed by middle schools (8) and high schools (3). Many rural elementary schools are struggling to enroll new students, a problem that has worsened in recent years.

The crisis is particularly evident in North Gyeongsang Province, where 42 schools have no incoming first graders for the upcoming academic year. Similar trends are unfolding in South Jeolla (32 schools), North Jeolla (25), and Gangwon (21).

Experts warn that without significant policy intervention to address South Korea’s declining birth rate and rural depopulation, more schools may face closure in the coming years.