Seoul Dependent School History
Opened: 1946
Closed: 1950
Re-opened: 1954
Closed: 1958
The first dependent school was established at Sobingo (Yongsan) on an old Japanese army base. The teachers were dependents. The school opened on November 3, 1946. With weekend field trips and continuing school through June the required 180 days were met. The student body, which had begun at ninety-nine, rose to 150 by June 1947. The next year there were 320 students, and the old Seoul Foreign School Library was used so the school could have a full range of activities. The school would cease after the 1948-49 school year since most military and government units were withdrawn. On February 5, 1949, the Army school moved its remaining fifty-two students to the Chongdong Seoul Foreign School site. Just three weeks before the end of the 1949-50 school year, North Korea invaded South Korea and all American dependents were evacuated. On April 8, 1954, permission was granted for dependents to return. Eighteen students were expected in the fall and were taught by a Presbyterian missionary’s daughter and three part time teachers. They opened the school with a budget of $800. By the spring of 1955, enrollment was over thirty, and the second and third full-time teachers were hired. The school could accommodate only 100 students, but well over that number were expected for the fall of 1957. The decision was made to build a school at Yongsan, although it would take two years to complete. Additional property was purchased just north of Yongsei University for a new building at the Seoul Foreign School. The number of school children had risen to 241 students.
Based on information from DoDDS-Pacific Region 1946-1986