Korean International School sets roots in McKinley Hill

The Ministry of Education of Korea, in partnership with some Koreans who are staying in the country, is putting up the Korean International School Philippines at McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, with an initial investment of $5 million.

The international school, which will be run by the Korean School Foundation Philippines Inc. through its chairman Hong Sung Chon and executive director Kwon Hyuk Chong, was completed during the last quarter of 2008 and will be having its first school year this March.

It will initially have a four-storey building rising on a 3,000-square meter lot with a capacity of 450 students, although Kwon said they are already looking at putting up another building in a few years to accommodate up to 1,000 kids.

The Korean International School is quite near the future Korean Embassy, which is now under construction also within McKinley Hill.

The other international-caliber locators within the 50-hectare McKinley Hill township of property giant Megaworld Corp. are the British Embassy, Enderun Colleges and the Chinese International School Manila.

The Korean International School follows the international standards of three kindergarten levels, six years in the elementary, three years in middle school, and another three years in high school.

Kwon said the average tuition fee per year will be about $6,000. They will be accepting students from other nationalities and give partial scholarship to the descendants of Filipino veterans in the Korean War.

“Our location is perfect because we are beside a botanical garden… so the environment and atmosphere are really conducive for learning,” Kwon said, referring to McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio.

With the Korean language and culture embedded in the curriculum, Kwon said the international school will help ensure that Korean kids will get ample Korean education while staying in the Philippines. Also, other nationalities who will graduate from the Korean International School will have better opportunities in having a successful professional career in Korea. For more information, visit www.koreanis.org.ph.