A sixth-grade student sheds tears while receiving a diploma during the graduation and school closure ceremony held on Jan. 5 at Wolgok Elementary School in Dalseo District, Daegu.
DAEGU, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A small elementary school in the southern city of Daegu held its final graduation ceremony on Monday before closing its doors for good, a poignant marker of South Korea’s accelerating demographic decline and its growing impact on local communities.
Wolgok Elementary School, which opened in 1993 in Daegu’s Dalseo district, held its 33rd and final graduation and closure ceremony on Jan. 5. The school will be formally merged into a neighboring elementary school beginning March 1, ending more than three decades of operation.
A sixth-grade student sheds tears while receiving a diploma during the graduation and school closure ceremony held on Jan. 5 at Wolgok Elementary School in Dalseo District, Daegu.
Once home to 48 classes and more than 2,400 students, Wolgok Elementary has seen its enrollment shrink dramatically as the number of school-age children has fallen nationwide. This year, the school had just nine classes and 78 students. During the ceremony, Principal Kim Young-sun personally handed diplomas to the school’s 23 sixth-grade graduates.
The combined graduation and closure event lasted about 90 minutes and featured speeches by graduating students, performances with alumni from previous years and video tributes reflecting on school life.
A current student waves while enjoying the “Goodbye, Wolgok Elementary” concert held on Dec. 10 at the school auditorium in Dalseo District, Daegu. The concert was organized ahead of the school’s closure and invited local residents to attend. Wolgok Elementary School will close on March 1, 2026, after 33 years of operation, due to a decline in the school-age population.
While many students smiled through the proceedings, several were moved to tears as teachers spoke and memories of their time at the school were replayed on screen.
“Even if the school gates are closing, your dreams are not,” Mr. Kim told the graduates. “What you learned here—the values, the friendships and the memories—will continue to light your path forward.”
A current student waves while enjoying the “Goodbye, Wolgok Elementary” concert held on Dec. 10 at the school auditorium in Dalseo District, Daegu. The concert was organized ahead of the school’s closure and invited local residents to attend. Wolgok Elementary School will close on March 1, 2026, after 33 years of operation, due to a decline in the school-age population.
One graduating student, Lee Yoon-seo, described the ceremony as bittersweet. “This may be Wolgok’s last graduation, but no matter where we go or who we become, I hope we never forget the memories we made here and grow into good people,” she said.
Wolgok Elementary’s closure is part of a broader trend in Daegu, where schools have been shutting down one after another as birthrates plunge. Since 2023, at least one school has closed each year in the city, including middle and elementary schools, with additional closures scheduled through 2026.
Sixth-grade graduates leave their classroom in graduation gowns at Wolgok Elementary School in Dalseo District, Daegu, on Jan. 5.
The steady disappearance of neighborhood schools has become one of the most visible consequences of South Korea’s demographic crisis, presenting a growing challenge for the Democratic Party–led government as it seeks to stabilize communities in an era of record-low fertility and rapid population aging.
A sixth-grade student smiles brightly during the graduation and school closure ceremony held on Jan. 5 at Wolgok Elementary School in Dalseo District, Daegu. The school will close in March due to a decline in the school-age population, marking the occasion with its 33rd graduation ceremony alongside the closure event.
Image credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
