Superintendent Chung Keun-sik of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who won reelection, chose the "Mind Recovery Campus," a student mental health support policy, as the first agenda item to approve in his second term. The plan aims to build an integrated support system within public education, linking everything from healing for students facing high mental health risks to learning support for students at risk of dropping out.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Monday that it will strengthen the psychological and emotional safety net within public education through "Advancing the Mind Recovery Campus," Chung's first approval after taking office. The Mind Recovery Campus will be established on the former Deoksu High School relocation site and will serve as a hub supporting students' mental recovery and learning, centered on the tentatively named Mind Healing School, the Mind Growth Experience Education Center, and the Future School.
The tentatively named Mind Healing School, the core facility, is a public education-based healing and learning institution that jointly provides professional counseling, healing, and learning for middle and high school students facing high mental health risks, including victims of school violence. Its goal is to help psychological and emotional recovery and return to school through multifaceted support tailored to each student's complex risk factors, with the opening targeted for March 2028. The office plans to review expanding the target school levels based on operational performance and demand.
The tentatively named Mind Growth Experience Education Center is a hands-on education institution built by remodeling the former Deoksu High School gymnasium. It will support students' healthy physical development and mental growth through nature experiences and physical activities, with the opening targeted for September 2027.
The Future School is a public alternative education entrustment institution offering a middle school curriculum for students at risk of dropping out and those in need of alternative education. It provides regular studies as well as career and hands-on education to support students in continuing their education.
Over the long term, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to review establishing a Seoul-style public alternative school that integrates healing and learning support, based on the operational performance of the Mind Healing School. According to the roadmap, after opening the Mind Healing School in 2028, the office will prepare for conversion into a miscellaneous school and target opening a Seoul-style public alternative school in 2030.
In addition, the office plans to gradually establish student mental health governance that supports students' psychological recovery and return to school by building a public-private-academic cooperation system linking the Seoul Integrated Wee Center, regional Wee Centers, regional hub hospitals for student mental health support, local governments, and youth support organizations.
"The Mind Recovery Campus is a warm space of recovery that helps students in mental health crises heal their wounds while continuing their learning," Chung said. "Through an integrated model that supports healing and learning simultaneously, we will build a comprehensive public education safety net for student mental health so that all students in Seoul can recover healthy daily lives."
