[Photo] Elementary school in S. Jeolla offers free housing to attract new students

With South Korea’s aging population and a severe urban migration that has drained rural communities of young people, Asan Elementary School in Hwaseon County, South Jeolla Province, is offering free housing to new students and their families who are willing to make the move from the Greater Seoul area and other regions. Families would only have to pay water and electricity fees while living rent-free for up to nine years. Asan received only two new students this year. Since announcing the housing offer on Nov. 12, however, the school has been receiving around 20 telephone inquiries per day. Established in 1922, Asan Elementary School currently teaches only 27 students. The photo shows construction work for the new housing that’s expected to be finished by the end of 2019. (provided by Asan Elementary School)