By Kim Jin-heon
On Dec. 7 last year, Jang Seok-ung, superintendent of education for South Jeolla Province (also known locally as Jeonnam), met Cho Hee-yeon of the Metropolitan City of Seoul at the Seoul education office and talked about pending educational issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jang said that his region was relatively free from the pandemic and had good programs for children s education, but due to a decline in population, small-sized schools in the countryside were in danger of disappearing. On the other hand, Cho claimed that Seoul City had excessive students in each school, which made it difficult for teachers to educate them.