Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education: Yangsan Second Special School Project Clears Investment Review, Targets September 2030 Opening

The establishment of the tentatively named “Yangsan Second Special School,” to be built in the Sasong Public Housing District in Dong-myeon, Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, has passed the Ministry of Education’s Central Investment Review, bringing its planned opening forward by 18 months.

According to the Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education on November 3, the Ministry of Education held its fourth regular Central Investment Review of 2026 at the Myeongdong Hotel in Seoul on October 23 and approved the Yangsan Second Special School project.

Gyeongnam Office of Education. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The tentatively named Yangsan Second Special School will be built on a 14,990-square-meter site in the Sasong Public Housing District in Dong-myeon, Yangsan, with a total floor area of 13,053 square meters.

The school will serve 206 students across 32 classes, from kindergarten through its postsecondary vocational program, and will provide integrated special education for students with various disabilities. The project will cost a total of KRW 66.67 billion.

The provincial education office is pursuing the project with the goal of opening the school in September 2030.

It plans to offer kindergarten classes there for the first time at a special school in Yangsan, providing tailored special education suited to each stage of students’ lives, from kindergarten through the postsecondary vocational program.

Site designated for the planned Yangsan No. 2 Special School in Gyeongnam. [Provided by the Gyeongnam Office of Education]

The number of students in Yangsan requiring special education rose by 233, or 27.6%, from 845 in 2022 to 1,078 in 2026. However, Yangsan Huimang School is the only special school in the area.

Yangsan Huimang School, which had 107 students in 21 classes when it opened in 2011, has grown considerably; in 2026, it has 356 students in 61 classes.

Despite two expansion projects, the school still lacks classrooms. It operates “half-classrooms” by dividing regular classrooms in two and has converted special-purpose classrooms into regular classrooms.

In the 2026 school year, the number of students hoping to enroll exceeded the school’s capacity, leading to the first admissions lottery at a special school in the province.

Yangsan’s residential areas form a U shape around Cheonseongsan Mountain. The area’s only special school, Yangsan Huimang School, is in the northwest, so students in the eastern areas, including Ungsang, Deokgye and Seochang, have to spend more than an hour commuting to and from school.

To address overcrowded classes and ease the commuting burden for students in the eastern areas, the provincial education office began pursuing the construction of a new special school.

It reviewed 13 candidate sites across four areas. Six were within restricted development zones, while the others were ruled out because of factors including steep slopes, disaster risks, limited site sizes and poor accessibility.

After reviewing the options, the provincial education office selected an area in Sasong-ri, Dong-myeon, Yangsan, within a restricted development zone, as the planned site in November 2025 and pursued the project with the goal of opening the school in March 2032.

However, related administrative procedures, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s lifting of the development restrictions and changes to Yangsan’s urban management plan, were expected to take more than a year.

The provincial education office then considered land designated for self-sufficient facilities within the Sasong Public Housing District as a new candidate site. After 90.1% of parents supported the option in a survey, it changed the planned site.

The provincial education office said the Sasong area, where the new special school will be built, is in the center of Yangsan’s U-shaped residential area, making it easier to distribute students among the different areas.

It also expects the school to ease long-distance commuting and overcrowding for students requiring special education in the eastern areas, including Ungsang.

Choi Chiyong, director of the School Support Division, said, “Securing a site was difficult because of restricted development zones and steep slopes, among other challenges. However, after carefully reviewing 13 candidate sites and holding ongoing discussions with relevant agencies, we secured a site that will allow us to bring the opening forward by 18 months. We will promptly move ahead with follow-up procedures, including budget allocation and land acquisition, to ensure the school opens in September 2030 as planned. We will do our utmost to ensure that students in Yangsan who require special education can receive education suited to each stage of their lives closer to home.”

With the project’s approval in the Central Investment Review raising hopes of resolving long-standing challenges in special education in Yangsan, including overcrowded classes and long commutes, completing the follow-up administrative procedures on schedule and creating a stable learning environment have emerged as key priorities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.