Korean elementary school recruits illiterate seniors

Daegu Elementary School in Gangjin County, South Korea, currently has just 22 students, one in fourth grade and one in fifth grade. In the 1980s, there were 90 students in one class. "We went around the villages looking for first-graders, but there were none," said principal Lee Ju-young.

The reason for the drop in student numbers is that South Korea's birth rate has fallen sharply in recent decades. Last year, it dropped to less than one child per woman, among the lowest in the world. In rural areas like Gangjin, young couples are migrating to the cities.

In an effort to save the 96-year-old school, Principal Lee and local residents came up with the idea of ​​recruiting illiterate senior citizens. The local education office found the idea worthwhile and approved it.

Thanks to that, Ms. Hwang Wol-geum and seven other women, aged 56 to 80, started attending first grade in April this year. Ms. Hwang, 70, was illiterate due to her lack of education. She still remembers the sadness of hiding behind a tree and crying when she saw her friends going to school. But now, she can fulfill her dream of going to school.

Like many children on their first day of school, Ms. Hwang cried because she could not believe that she would one day be able to wear a school bag to school. "My mother has been much happier since she started school," said Ms. Hwang's son, Mr. Chae.

Older students at Daegu Elementary School are making up for lost time. Park Jong-sim, 75, fears falling behind in class and wakes up before dawn to practice her penmanship and pronunciation.

"The seniors are very eager to learn and even ask for more homework," said Jo Yoon-jeong, 24, a first-grade teacher.

Unlike other classrooms, the first grade class for the older students has sofas and hot water mattresses. During breaks, they sit together on the warm mattresses and bury their feet under blankets. The grandmothers bring candy to share with the students in the next class.

To balance her studies and work, Ms. Hwang had to wake up at 4 a.m. to help her husband, son, and daughter-in-law pick strawberries before going to school. However, this did not stop her from pursuing her studies.

In the near future, Ms. Hwang is determined to run for the position of President of the Women's Association of the commune. The 70-year-old woman said: "Before, people advised me to run for office, but I refused because I thought this was a job for literate people." Now in first grade, she is confident in running for the position.