[News Today] FIRST GRADERS AT RECORD LOW

[LEAD]
The issue of population decline remains a pressing societal challenge in South Korea. This year, the number of students entering elementary schools in Seoul has fallen nearly 10% from the previous year, marking an all-time low.

[REPORT]
The first visit to an elementary school classroom.

Everything looks unusual and different from kindergarten.

What's that? (That's game stones.)

Elementary schools nationwide have held orientation for first graders ahead of their first year in school, which begins in March. The children already look forward to their school life.

Lee Jin-ah, Kim Ji-yu / Seoul residents
(Do you want to make many friends?) I do. I also hope my teacher will be nice.

This school will receive seven classes of 164 first graders this year.

Each class will have slightly over 20 students.

Chung Sung-jun / Vice Principal, Wonmyong Elementary School
There are 20 fewer students compared to 2022 or 2023.

Some 53,000 children are to start first grade in Seoul this year.

That's 9.3% less than last year and an all-time low.

The situation outside of the capital area is even more serious.

Last year, 157 elementary schools had no first graders.

Most of them were outside of the capital area, including 34 schools in Jeollabuk-do Province and 27 in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

The number of daycare centers that have closed down because of the lack of children is also growing.

Oh Bok-hwan / Dir., Sinjeong Elementary School Kindergarten, Ulsan
The number is plunging rapidly rather than gradually. It's very steep decline.

Two years from now, children born in 2020, when fewer than 200,000 babies were born in Korea because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will start school.

Concerns are rising that more elementary schools, including those in Seoul, could close down.