Kyungbock High School

Kyungbock High School (Korean: 경복고등학교) is one of the oldest modern secondary school in South Korea. It is located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, near Gyeongbok Palace, after which it is named. It was established on April 18, 1921. The school's original name was the Second High School of Gyeongseong (경성제이고등보통학교). It has changed its name several times before settling on the name "Kyungbock" in 1938.[1]

Kyungbock High School
(경복고등학교, 景福高等學校)
Location
Seoul

South Korea
Information
TypePublic, Day
Motto至誠 闊達 剛健 協同
지성, 활달, 강건, 협동
Diligence, Courage, Strength, Cooperation
Established1921
Head of schoolLee Jeong Min
GenderBoys
Enrollment1800 total
Average class size38 students
Campusurban, 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft)
Color(s)Blue
Websitekyungbock.hs.kr

History

Kyungbock High School is one of the oldest modern secondary schools in South Korea. It was established on April 20, 1921, after Kyunggi High School, which originated from Gwanlim Middle School. Kyunggi High School was the first high school of Gyeongseong at the time, and Kyungbock High school was named the second. Its main building was built on June 20, 1921. In 1938, the school changed its name to Kyungbock Middle School, meaning that it is located close to Gyeongbok Palace. In 1946, right after emancipation from the Japanese Colonial Rule, the school extended its admission to younger students. It educated students of grades 7-12 at the time. 7 years later, the school divided its curriculum into middle school and high school courses. The middle school curriculum was closed in 1971, followed by the abolition of middle school entrance exams. In 1974, high school entrance exams in South Korea were also abolished. In 1985, The school built its new Main building, which is used today.

In 2009, Kyungbock was nominated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as a "curriculum innovation school". It has been renovating school facilities and school curriculum since then, supported by the Ministry's fund aid. The school can select 50% of its faculty members, and plan its curriculum in a limited amount by its own methods.[2]

Facilities

Academic facilities
  • Kyungbock Building (경복관)
  • Buk Ak Building (북악관)
  • Building 1 (1호관)
  • Building 2 (2호관)
  • Building 3 (3호관)

Student facilities
  • Physical Education Center (체육관)
  • Main Hall (대강당)
  • Art Center (예능관)

Kyungbock Memorial House

On the campus, there are 3 storage buildings that were built in 2004 for the use of arranging class reunions and annual visits of graduates. The building is to commemorate all that Kyungbock has achieved and to encourage attending students and young graduates to keep alive the tradition and reputation of Kyungbock. In the basement there is a Kyungbock Alumni Association branch where two graduates are working as full-time alumni officers. On the first floor there is a Kyungbock Memorial where memorabilia of Kyungbock from almost 90 years ago are on display. Finally on the second floor there is a small banquet occasionally used for class reunions and annual scholarship endowment.

Activities
  • Kyung In Yeok Jun (경인역전): former annual marathon festival
  • Annual scholarship endowment program: Kyungbock Alumni Association awards scholarships to 45 students every semester.

Notable alumni

References
  1. Kyungbock high school on naver encyclopedia
  2. 자율형 공립고, 인성교육으로 학구파 만든다.

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