South Gyeongsang Province is launching the "Gyeongnam-style Local Study" program to overcome the decline in the school-age population, address regional extinction risks, and create a settlement-friendly environment in population-declining areas.
The province announced Thursday that it will hold a public competition for the "Local Study Revitalization Project" from the 20th through June 15, targeting 11 cities and counties designated as population-declining areas. The program is designed to allow urban students to transfer to small schools in the province (those with 60 or fewer students) to receive region-specific education, while providing integrated education and housing support so that their families can relocate together and fully settle in the area. To this end, South Gyeongsang Province, the South Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education, and the Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) are working together.
The province and its cities and counties will handle improvements to the settlement environment, including remodeling vacant houses and upgrading school commute routes, while LH will build 10 units of public rental housing along with community spaces. The provincial education office plans to renovate aging facilities at small schools and operate education programs tailored to each region, offering urban students differentiated learning experiences.
To address the limitations of its previous "Small School Revitalization Project," the province has prioritized "sustainability" from the design stage of this new initiative. To prevent students from returning to cities after graduating from elementary school, regions with strong foundations for advancing to middle and high schools will receive up to 10 bonus points, encouraging long-term residency.
In addition, to induce long-term settlement and prevent delays in securing sites for rental housing, applicants are required to recommend at least two candidate sites for rental housing, and the number of purchase announcements will be limited to three to speed up the project.
The province also plans to use the Gyeongnam Study promotional channel to help parents in urban areas easily access information about small schools and rental housing.
From 2020 to 2024, the program was carried out at 13 schools across seven counties, attracting 69 households and 292 residents. Of these, 36 percent came from other cities and provinces.
