Seoul Overseas Chinese High School


Seoul Overseas Chinese High School or Hanseong Chinese Middle and High School is a Republic of China -oriented Chinese international junior and senior high school in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It follows the curriculum of the ROC, and accordingly uses textbooks from Taiwan.
It is a hwagyo, or an ethnic Chinese school in South Korea. The South Korean government began recognizing hwagyo as educational institutions in 1998.
The area primary school serving Chinese students is Seoul Chinese Primary School in Jung-gu.

History

The school opened as the Kwanghwa Middle School in 1942. It temporarily closed in 1945 stemming from the fallout from World War II. With help from Republic of China officials, it reopened in 1948, along with the Seoul Chinese Primary School, on the premise of the Republic of China Embassy in Myongdong, Seoul.
In 1968, with the student populations of both schools exploding, the local Chinese community decided to separate the two schools, building a new Secondary School in Seodaumun-gu, Seoul, where it remains today. The School then saw a long period of expanding student body, cresting in 2003 with 1,100 students. Since then, the size of its student population has steadily declined, as the size of the local Chinese community gradually shrunk. As of 2020, it has about 500 students.
Sun Shu-i became the principal in 1984. Yu, Chi-Sheng took over as the Principal in 2015 when Sun retired.

Operation

The school mainly serves students from 7th to 12th grade, totaling about 500 students. Students mainly come from several "feeder" schools in the greater Seoul area. These include the Seoul Chinese Primary School, 永登浦華僑小學, 水原華僑中正小學, & 議政府華僑小學. Some students also come from other areas of Korea like Incheon or even Busan. Its sister school in Korea include the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Chinese High School of Incheon and Overseas Chinese Elementary School Daegu .
School curriculum mainly follows those prescibed by the ROC Ministry of Education, with Korean added to adapt to local environment. Starting in Fall, 2020, the School will begin to use material mandated in the new curriculum guideline instituted by the ROC Ministry of Education in 2019. Textbooks used are those published by 南一書局, provided by the Overseas Chinese Community Council.
The School is famous for its Art classes, with students doing traditional arts like paintinga and Chinese calligraphy as well as modern audio and video media.
The School also runs many Chinese cultural activities like Lion Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, and Dragon Dance. Its Dance troupes regularly perform in offical and community events.