South Korea special education shortages

South Korea is experiencing a significant shortage in special education infrastructure and personnel due to a rapid increase in the student population. Since 2022, the number of students requiring special education has grown by nearly 20%, reaching 124,195.

Initial reports highlighted a lack of physical facilities, noting that while the student population rose by over 20,000, the number of special education schools nationwide increased by only seven. This has resulted in widespread overcrowding, with more than 1,500 classes exceeding legal student limits. Gyeonggi Province has been identified as a particularly hard-hit area, accounting for nearly half of the nation’s overcrowded classes.

Subsequent data revealed a critical deficit in staffing, with a nationwide shortage of 4,663 special education teachers relative to the legal requirement of one teacher per four students. Gyeonggi Province also reports the highest teacher deficit, lacking 1,685 educators. The crisis is compounded by high teacher turnover rates, where mid-career resignations are reportedly more than three times higher than retirement rates, raising concerns regarding students’ rights to learning and the increasing workload for educators.