In the middle of Seoul, there is a unique community where people pursue community-focused and eco-friendly ways of living.

Located in Mapo, the Sungmisan village was created by education-conscious and environment-minded parents who wished to have a town to co-finance and co-parent their children.

The young parents first started with a nursery, and as their children grew up they set up a school covering primary to secondary education.

Founded in 2004, the Sungmisan School is now the core part of the unique village, said its principal Park Bock-seon.

Park, 57, who has been leading the school since 2007, noted that the school put a great emphasis on the role of students in the community.

“We do teach math, science and English as other schools do, but we’re focusing more on teaching how to make contributions to the village,” he said.

“What we expect from our students is when they graduate they will live here and become part of our town.”

Unlike other traditional public schools where students tend to memorize text books to excel in tests, the Sungmisan prioritizes hands-on experiences, such as woodwork and gardening, according to the principal.

The fifth graders, for instance, have a yearlong project in which they learn about food. Instead of learning in a classroom, the students go out and grow vegetables in a little yard near the school.

They also prepare meals with their own vegetables to serve older citizens who live alone in the village, Park said.

He said there had been an interesting transition in the attitude of students in the class.

“They first cook what they like to eat, but gradually they cook what the elderly like to eat after learning that some have particular problems, such as diabetes,” Park said.

“I believe this is the way of learning how to live together and how to contribute to the community,“ he added.

The school also organizes many field trips. In particular, the seventh graders go on a field trip to PyeongChang, Gangwon Province as part of a one-year ecological project.

They spend seven months in the rural area learning rice farming and being able to live without support from their parents.

“We don’t expect our students to become farmers, but they’ll at least learn how to grow their own food,” the principal said, noting that the farming experience would cultivate the self-reliance of the students.

The school has no grading systems to check which students excel and which class has the best students. There is also no written test, though students occasionally take math or English tests, but that’s only, for teachers to check on students learning.

This system not only helps students focus on learning without pressure, but also allows teachers to spend more time with students, according to the school.

“We discourage competition with peers, but cooperation is required as part of the curriculum,” the principal said.

In its ninth year, the school currently provides primary though secondary education with some 160 students enrolled.

Fed up with uniform education and pressure from cutthroat college entrance competition, a growing number of students are turning to alternative education, the principal said.

Park, however, admitted that although the Sungmisan school offers exclusive programs unrestricted by the government, it has financial difficulties as it does not receive funding.

“We have 26 staff, and to be honest it’s difficult to cover their wages with student tuition fees. We need more support,” he said.

There is also another obstacle for those who wish to go to a university. As the school is not accredited by the government, students must earn a high school diploma through a qualification examination.

The mother of a 10-year-old student said she was content with the school, even though it may not be the best school for sending her child to a top university.

“I just want my child enjoy going to a school, and live happily after graduating from the school,” she said.

Park agreed on the significance of happiness.

“We may not teach how to go to top universities or how to find a good job, but we teach them how to live happily in various ways,” he said.

He reiterated the importance of school as the core part of the village, noting it played a great role in building close communication and mutual trust in the community.

“What we’re hoping for our students is that after graduation they find a place to work and live in the village and make here a better place,” he added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)