기숙사부터 장학금까지 전액 지원하며 '진짜 인재'를 키우는 산골 고등학교｜지리산 고등학교 24시｜다큐프라임｜#골라듄다큐

“Poverty must not block the path to learning.” Jirisan High School is the first and only tuition-free high school in South Korea, offering opportunities to students from difficult financial backgrounds who otherwise couldn’t afford an education or had to abandon their dreams. Any student with the will and passion to learn can become a part of this school. What makes this possible is the support of around 1,000 small-scale donors. Each donor contributes just 10,000 KRW (about $7.50) a month, and these small amounts are pooled to fund the education of Jirisan High students. Despite this support, the school still faces tight financial conditions as it provides full scholarships, meals, and textbooks to all students. Due to limited facilities, students live in containers and rely on volunteer teachers to make up for the lack of full-time staff. Educational materials are scarce, private tutoring is out of reach, and students often study late into the night on empty stomachs. Yet, they remain grateful simply for the chance to study, pushing forward without complaints. “The more you give, the bigger your dreams grow.” Following its motto—“Let love guide us to become workers who build a better world”—the school emphasizes compassion, volunteerism, and community service. Principal Haeseong Park teaches that lowering oneself leads to greatness, and giving brings abundance. Students practice this philosophy daily, visiting elderly neighbors with leftover lunch food and helping with farm work as part of their regular curriculum. These activities build meaningful bonds with the community and teach students how to live together with others. Growing through both learning and service, the students of Jirisan High dream of giving back even more than they’ve received. Every day, they study harder than the day before to chase their bigger dreams. ✔ Program Title: DocuPrime – 300 Days of School, Part 2: The Bookworms of Jirisan Village ✔ Air Date: January 12, 2012 #FreeEducation #JirisanHighSchool #KoreanEducation #RuralSchool #StudentLife #DocuPrime #VolunteerWork #ScholarshipStories #EducationForAll #PICKDOCU