Korean grannies head to classroom decades after missing out on school

At one school for women, almost 90% of students are in their 70s and 80s

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL Before classes begin, the corridors of Ilsung Women’s Middle and High School are filled with the sounds of cheerful chatter and lively greetings.

Inside the classrooms, heads are bowed in concentration, and hands are busy copying notes off the blackboard.

This is a scenario not out of place inanormal school, but what stands out are the telltale heads of silver hair and tight curls characteristics associated with South Korean middle-aged aunties and grannies.

At Ilsung Women’s Middle and High School, almost 90 per cent of the students are in their 70s and 80s.

Unlike other middle and high schools in South Korea which cater to students aged 12 to 18, Ilsung is only for women aged 40 and above who did not manage to receive or complete their education when they were younger.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, there are nine of such schools catering to mature students in Seoul, with a total of 42 nationwide.

There are no school fees for such students, which number more than 6,600 across the country on average per year.

South Korea is among the world’s fastest ageing societies, with 19 per cent of its population aged 65 and above as at 2023.

Ruddy-cheeked 75-year-old student Beom Shin-hee was huffing and puffing on her daily steep uphill climb to the school.

She wakes up at 6.30am and pulls a shift cleaning a kindergarten near her home in Itaewon before heading to school, a 30-minute journey away by public transport before a10-minute uphill climb to the school.

She told The Sunday Times: The walk is a bit tough, but I see it as exercise. I feel good learning new things, especially when I can read the signs at the subway stations!”

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