SENIOR STUDENTS

[Anchor Lead]

Meanwhile in Jeollanamdo Province, an elementary school is drawing attention for recruiting senior citizens who never had the opportunity to learn. Even foreign media have taken interest in this tiny rural school in South Korea that is thinking outside the box.

[Pkg]

A first grade classroom at an elementary school in Jeollanamdo Province. The students are not whom you'd normally see. They are curly haired grandmothers with deep wrinkled faces. All seven freshmen at this school this year are senior citizens, past the age of 70. It is not without embarrassment that they are learning the Korean alphabet for the first time at this age. But their academic fervor is as strong as any young student's. The ladies take classes, but also do classroom chores and receive small cartons of milk, just like any other student. For them, school life couldn't be more joyous.

[Soundbite] PARK JONG-SIM(79/FIRST GRADE) : "It's fun, just to come to school, see each other and laugh."

It's the first time in Jeollanamdo Province to have a whole class entirely comprised of senior citizens. The story has even been covered by the New York Times. The school had difficulty attracting new students and turned to the idea of recruiting seniors from a nearby town. The older pupils need to complete the regular curricula including Korean language and math. But they are not afraid of the task when thinking of the anguish of having missed the opportunity to learn in their younger days.

[Soundbite] HWANG WOL-GEUM(73/FIRST GRADE) : "I can't read, including letters from my kids. It's very inconvenient."

This is a win-win for both rural schools which struggle with declining student numbers and senior citizens who get to open a new chapter in life in the name of education.