English Village Restructuring, Private Consignment Under Review

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo said on the 13th that "we are reviewing restructuring and private consignment to improve the operational status of the English Village," reaffirming the private consignment policy.

Governor Kim, attending a board meeting of Gyeonggi English Village on the same day, stated, "If there are no prospects at the Paju camp this year, the Yangpyeong camp (under construction) will have no choice but to seriously consider private consignment."

Governor Kim particularly emphasized that "the English Village is originally a matter that should be handled by the Provincial Education Office or the Ministry of Education, and it is not appropriate for Gyeonggi Province to do so," and added, "Moreover, considering that only 16 percent of second-year middle school students benefit from it, it is not just from a public perspective."

He further stated, "While Gyeonggi English Village significantly reduced its deficit scale from 33 billion won to 13 billion won through restructuring, since the fundamental structure itself carries a large deficit, the results of these efforts have not shined brightly," emphasizing that "furthermore, offering a 400,000 won package (4 nights, 5 days) for 120,000 won is a patronizing administration and cannot be permitted."

He then criticized the policy decision for establishing the English Village, saying, "It is unlikely that any province other than Gyeonggi would operate an English Village with over 200 billion won invested, including land costs, and this exceeds the combined total of all the other provinces in the nation."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province opened Ansan Camp (located in Daebu Island, Ansan City, with a floor area of 3,900 pyeong), the nation's first English Village in August 2004 under then-Governor Son Hak-kyu, and opened Paju Camp in April of last year in the Tanhyeon-myeon Tongil Dongsan area of Paju City with a floor area of 84,000 pyeong and a total floor space of 11,000 pyeong.

Additionally, Gyeonggi Province is constructing Yangpyeong Camp on a 30,000 pyeong site in Damun-ri, Yongmun-myeon, Yangpyeong County, with a structure consisting of one basement floor and three above-ground floors with a total floor area of 6,300 pyeong, targeting completion in April of next year. A total of 158.8 billion won has been invested in constructing all three camps.