Educational Infrastructure Investment of 100 Billion Won Bearing Fruit

“Educational infrastructure development is a top priority for fostering local talent and promoting regional development.”

Toward this goal, Hwaseong City has invested over 100 billion won in educational foundation expansion projects over the past four years, with tangible results emerging.

According to the city on the 3rd, the city established Hwaseong Scholarship Hall in Seoul's Gwanak-gu district in 2007 with the aim of nurturing local talent. In 2009, it added a second scholarship hall in Dobong-gu, where 180 university students currently reside.

The scholarship halls, established to alleviate the financial burden of university students from rural areas and allow them to focus on their studies, set admission criteria based primarily on academic performance and grades.

Monthly residents pay 100,000 won, with an additional 70,000 won for meals, allowing them to study comfortably in a well-managed environment.

Compared to university dormitory fees of 800,000 to 900,000 won per month and lodging fees near campuses of 300,000 to 400,000 won per month, this represents less than half the cost. With strict supervision from resident advisors, safe and convenient living conditions are guaranteed, allowing students to focus solely on academics, which provides peace of mind for parents.

Hwaseong City also launched a major expansion of four essential facilities—cafeterias, language labs, libraries, and multipurpose halls (sports facilities, etc.)—in cooperation with the education office and schools to improve educational environments and develop talents with both character and ability since 2006.

From 2006 to 2009, the city invested 110 billion won in educational subsidies for these facilities. Among 119 elementary, middle, and high schools in the city, facility improvement projects have been completed at 92% of schools, except for a few lacking land for additional necessary facilities.

In particular, after confirming that students from dormitory-equipped high schools among the city's 16 high schools have been admitted in large numbers to Seoul National University and universities in the Seoul metropolitan area, the city plans to concentrate its investment in dormitory construction to prevent students from rural areas traveling long distances from wasting time on commutes and to allow them to focus solely on academics in dormitories.

Since its establishment, the Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation has selected 26 self-supporting scholarship recipients from middle school to university students through fundraising from businesses and various sectors, distributing 33 million won. It selected 21 high school and university students as entrance and merit scholarship recipients and delivered 35 million won in scholarships.

In 2008, it distributed 33.4 million won to 26 self-supporting scholarship students and 51.5 million won to 31 entrance and merit scholarship students. In 2009, it distributed 270 million won to 172 self-supporting, entrance, and merit scholarship students, achieving remarkable results in significantly expanding the scope of scholarship support. This year, it plans to select 167 recipients and distribute 250 million won.

By the end of this year, Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation scholarship recipients will reach 443 people, totaling 2.053 billion won.

The foundation for this talent development is the small relay of support from citizens creating a powerful force.

Warm support from ordinary farmers, office workers, entrepreneurs, agricultural cooperatives, housewives, fraternal organizations, and merchants—a total of 644 people—has flowed like a spring.

As a result, the four-year university enrollment rate increased by 48% from 2005 to 2009, with 91.5% of this year's university students enrolled in Seoul metropolitan area universities living in dormitories.