South Korea’s first alternative elementary school for children from multicultural families will open in Seoul next year with flexible programs centered on cultural and language courses, the local education office said Tuesday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it has approved the license for the School of Global Sarang, founded by Rev. Kim Hae-sung, who has worked with migrant workers in South Korea over the last two decades. “Sarang” means love in Korean.

The school, set to open in March, plans to accept 15 students in each of its six grades. About 80 percent of the students will be children from multicultural families, with Korean students making up the other 20 percent.

Classes will be offered in three different languages ― Korean, English and Chinese ― and tuition will be free, regardless of students’ nationality. The school plans to begin accepting applications from next month, officials said.

“I will do my best to operate the school in a socially responsible way to make it a model advanced alternative school for children from multicultural families,” Kim said.

Education officials hope the alternative school helps educate multicultural students, who tend to drop out of school due to the language barrier or financial difficulties.

As Korea has experienced a large influx of foreign residents in recent years, the number of multicultural students in kindergarten and formal education institutions in Seoul increased to 6,837 this year, up 39.9 percent from last year, according to the education board. 

(Yonhap News)