Korean International School of Hong Kong

The origin was a Saturday school established in 1960; it initially had 6 students.[5]

Discussions about the need for an international school to serve Koreans in Hong Kong began as early as the 1980s, and the Korean International School finally began operating in 1994, with both a Korean section and an English section. Roughly half of the HK$70 million costs of constructing the campus was funded by the South Korean government, with the rest funded by donations from the local Korean community. In the first year, the Korean section enrolled 140 students, while the English section enrolled 120.[1] In 1996, they became the first international school in Hong Kong to introduce a special education program for developmentally delayed children; normally in Hong Kong, separate schools are set up to offer such programs, but KIS chose to establish a small special education class within the school, consisting of roughly 10 students, because of the demand for it among the community.[6] The English section of their middle school division began full operation in August 1997 with the establishment of the 9th grade.[7] Early on in its history, the school experienced rapid growth; however, this was disrupted by the economic aftershocks of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, during which student numbers dropped from 250 to 190.[8]

In June 2006, the Korean International School's managing organisation, the Korean Residents' Association, was investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption; their office was searched, and one staff member was charged with having received HK$100,000 in bribes related to the renegotiation of a real estate management company's contract and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. Local Koreans felt shaken by the investigations and expressed their loss of confidence, some committed suicide in the managing organisation as a result.[9] Back in 2004, KIS terminated 26 staff in what they described as a "drastic restructuring" of their curriculum.[10] Then-principal Steven Kim claims the teachers were not fired but instead laid off with four months notice; the teachers in question disputed this, claiming instead that they had not been told of the decision until late in the year.[11] Parents in the Korean community were unhappy with the sudden changes and chose to transfer their children to other schools as a result.[10] They expressed frustration that they were not consulted regarding a matter involving so many staff; of particular concern to them was the removal of Doug Anderson, former head of the school's English section.[12] Anderson was sent on "extended home leave" and replaced by Taras Kozyra.[13]

In December 2016, The Korean International School of Hong Kong was discovered to have embezzled South Korean government subsidies, amendment of articles of incorporation, and appropriation of certain funding by board members. This highlighted the untransparency nature of operations within the school, with Chairman, board members and some employees using embezzled money for their own personal use instead of educational purposes. Eventually, those involved were subjected to disciplinary actions.[14]

The Southern Wing has two blocks, which are both built in 1994, and has underwent a large scale renovation in 2014, including replacing wall material, and replacing floors.

The main block consists of 7 floors, including the roof. The ground floor consists of a playground (used for drop-off when students arrive to school), a general office, storage room, meeting rooms, IT classroom, vice principal's office, principal's office, and a multi-purpose room. It also holds the indoor area of the canteen with roughly 125 seats. This canteen is currently run by Chartwells, and underwent a renovation in 2019. The second to sixth floor has classrooms. The seventh floor is a rooftop that is not opened to students.

The exercise block has a swimming pool on the ground floor, which is currently run by Stanford and has a viewing area. On the second floor, there is a staff room, which was once an abandoned viewing area, then a storage area. On the third floor, there is an auditorium with a stage. It is also used for exercise lessons. This floor also contains an exercise office. On the rooftop sixth floor, there is a tennis court, which is also an exercise area.