Kyungbock_High_School

Kyungbock High School

Kyungbock High School

Public, day school in Seoul, South Korea

Kyungbock High School (Korean: 경복고등학교) is one of the oldest modern secondary school in South Korea. It is located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, near Gyeongbok Palace, after which it is named. It was established on April 18, 1921. The school's original name was the No. 2 High School of Gyeongseong (경성제이고등보통학교). It has changed its name several times before settling on the name "Kyungbock" in 1938.[1]

Quick Facts Kyungbock High School (경복고등학교, 景福高等學校), Location ...

History

Kyungbock High School is one of the oldest modern secondary schools in South Korea. It was established on April 20, 1921, after Kyunggi High School, which originated from Gwanlim Middle School. Kyunggi High School was the first high school of Gyeongseong at the time, and Kyungbock High school was named the second. Its main building was built on June 20, 1921. In 1938, the school changed its name to Kyungbock Middle School due to its proximity to Gyeongbok Palace. In 1946, right after emancipation from the Japanese Colonial Rule, the school extended its admission to younger students. It educated students of grades 7-12 at the time. When the government mandated the "3+3" middle school and high school system, the school was separated into Kyungbock Middle School (grades 7 to 9) and Kyungbock High School (grades 10-12). Kyungbock Middle School was closed in 1971. In 1974, high school entrance exams in South Korea were also abolished. In 1985, The school built its new Main building, which is used today.

In 2009, Kyungbock was nominated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as a "curriculum innovation school". It has been renovating school facilities and school curriculum since then, supported by the Ministry's fund aid. The school can select 50% of its faculty members, and plan its curriculum in a limited amount by its own methods.[2]

Facilities

Academic facilities

  • Kyungbock Building (경복관)
  • Buk Ak Building (북악관)
  • Building 1 (1호관)
  • Building 2 (2호관)
  • Building 3 (3호관)

Student facilities

  • Physical Education Center (체육관)
  • Main Hall (대강당)
  • Art Center (예능관)

Kyungbock Memorial House

On the campus, there are 3 storage buildings that were built in 2004 for the use of arranging class reunions and annual visits of graduates. The building is to commemorate all that Kyungbock has achieved and to encourage attending students and young graduates to keep alive the tradition and reputation of Kyungbock. In the basement there is a Kyungbock Alumni Association branch where two graduates are working as full-time alumni officers. On the first floor there is a Kyungbock Memorial where memorabilia of Kyungbock from almost 90 years ago are on display. Finally on the second floor there is a small banquet occasionally used for class reunions and annual scholarship endowment.

Activities

  • Kyung In Yeok Jun (경인역전): former annual marathon festival
  • Annual scholarship endowment program: the Kyungbock Alumni Association awards scholarships to 45 students every semester.

Athletics

Kyungbock is known for its sports teams. Its student athletes have represented South Korea at youth level in various sports and many have gone on to the senior national team and played professionally.[3]

Kyungbock is one of the few high schools in the country with an ice hockey program, which has been established since the 1990s. Its biggest rival is Kyunggi High School in Gangnam, with the two schools often meeting in the finals of the high school championships.[4][5][3]

Kyungbock has a well-established basketball program and is a major feeder to the "big 3" universities in college basketball: Yonsei University, Korea University and Chung-Ang University.[6] During the 1960s to 1980s, it first gained a reputation as one of the Seoul's top schools for high school basketball, along with Whimoon and Yongsan High Schools, the latter of which is still considered one of Kyungbock's fiercest rivals.[7][8][9] As of 2021, Kyungbock has produced five overall number 1 draft picks in the annual Korean Basketball League rookie draft, the most of any high school in the country.[10][11]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Kyungbock High School alumni

References

  1. [1]
    Kyungbock high school on naver encyclopedia
  2. [2]
    "자율형 공립고, 인성교육으로 학구파 만든다". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 23 September 2009.
  3. [3]
    "청소년 국가대표 경력 없으면 연고대 진학 꿈도 못 꾼다". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 16 March 2015.
  4. [4]
    "경기.경복고 아이스하키 名門대결". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 8 June 1995.
  5. [5]
    "경복고, 2015 고교 아이스하키 최강전 우승... 경기고 준우승". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 30 October 2015.
  6. [6]
    "용산고, 경복고 동문회 성황리에 마쳐". Jumpball (in Korean). 13 May 2019.
  7. [7]
    "[매거진] 2021년 코트는 우리가 접수한다, 고교농구 정상탈환 노리는 용산고". Jumpball (in Korean). 17 February 2021.
  8. [8]
    "Basketball Glossary — 농구용어 해설집" (PDF) (in Korean). Korean Basketball Association. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  9. [9]
    "대학농구의 젖줄, 농구 명문 고교 탐방기 1. 경복고 편" (in Korean). Korea University Sports Federation (Naver blog). 10 March 2014.
  10. [10]
    "연세대 이정현, '군산고 최초 1순위' 될 수 있을까". Jumpball (in Korean). 24 September 2021.
  11. [11]
    "[KBL 드래프트] '1순위로 삼성행' 이원석, "전혀 예상 못했다"" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 28 September 2021.
  12. [12]
    "김연아, 김원중과 결별?…"관계 정리 맞다"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 19 November 2014.
  13. [13]
    "아이스하키부 이돈구 선수". Yonsei Chunchu (in Korean). Yonsei University. 5 September 2008.
  14. [14]
    "경복고 출신 주도 모비스, 용산고 인맥 주축 KCC 꺾어". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 12 April 2010.
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