School officials organize and distribute textbooks ahead of the 2025 academic year at a high school in Daegu on Jan. 23. (Yonhap)
School officials organize and distribute textbooks ahead of the 2025 academic year at a high school in Daegu on Jan. 23. (Yonhap)

The number of new students enrolling in Seoul's general high schools has decreased by 8 percent from last year, reflecting the impact of South Korea’s declining birthrate and shrinking school-age population.

According to a report Friday from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, a total of 45,846 students have been assigned to general high schools for the 2025 academic year, marking a decrease of 3,980 students from last year’s 49,820.

Freshman enrollment at Seoul’s general high schools has shown a steady decline over the past five years. The number of new students stood at 50,248 in 2020, 45,983 in 2021, 49,098 in 2022, 53,761 in 2023, and 49,826 in 2024. The temporary increase in 2023 was attributed to a surge in students born in 2007, known in the Chinese zodiac as the Year of the Golden Pig, which is traditionally associated with good fortune. However, apart from this anomaly, enrollment numbers have continued to decrease annually.

The declining student population has also led to a reduction in the number of classes. This year, Seoul's general high schools will operate 1,777 freshman classes, 97 fewer than last year’s 1,874. The average number of students per class has also dropped from 26.5 to 25.8.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education emphasized its efforts to improve learning conditions by ensuring a balanced distribution of students across schools and regions. "By maintaining an equitable student distribution, we have gradually reduced the average number of students per class each year and minimized the number of overcrowded schools," the office stated.

High school placement follows a three-stage computerized lottery system that takes into account school capacity and the appropriate distribution of students. In the first stage, 20 percent of available seats in schools across Seoul are assigned. The second stage allocates 40 percent of seats within designated school districts, and the final stage assigns students who were not placed in the earlier rounds to schools within their broader district.

Students and parents will receive high school placement notifications via text message. Freshmen must collect their placement certificates from their middle schools or local education offices and register at their assigned schools on Feb. 3 and 4.