Cheongsam International Academy (Korean: 청심국제중고등학교, abbreviated as CSIA), is a
private boarding school in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
located in
Gapyeong County,
Gyeonggi Province
Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
. CSIA is classified as a special purposes high school (특수목적고등학교) by the
government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is th ...
.
It is regarded as one of the most competitive and prestigious schools to attend in South Korea, due to its history of college admissions results.
History
Foundation
According to th
CheongShim International School Official Website the plans for the school began to be formulated in July 2002
by the
Unification Church
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or " Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Sp ...
.
The
Foundation (engineering) plans were approved in June 2003.
While the original name for the school was to CheongShim Middle and High School (청심중고등학교), the name was changed its current name in September 2005.
The
groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...
ceremony for the establishment of the school was held in November 2004. The school itself finished its construction process in 2005
and the completion of the building was commemorated with a ceremony in June 2005.
The school received its
certificate of incorporation in August 2005.
Originally, the school planned to admit three hundred members each.
It was found with the purpose that all subjects except
Korean language
Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...
and
Korean history
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.
Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825.
The earliest ...
would be taught in English.
There were also specialized courses such as
TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities a ...
and
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
classes to be offered to people who wish to study abroad in the future.
The school also stated that it had plans to create a research institute for middle school studies in order to increase the expertise of its teachers.
Although the school was technically labeled as a special-purposes high school,
the admission process followed the procedure of a foreign language high school for the first year
The admission process for the first year of students began in November 2005.
The requests for admissions and the documents were accepted from the beginning to the middle of November.
The admissions tests were given around the second half of November and the selections were announced at the end of November.
The first CheongShim
Initiation ceremony was held in March 2006, with 99 middle school students and 100 high school students each.
The first principal of CSIA, Lee Jong-Hyo was also appointed in March 2006.
Current
There are a total of 600 students in the school.
There are a total of 47 teachers as of 2008, of which twelve are non-Korean teachers.
Of the teachers, 17% of the teachers are non-Korean teachers and 56% of the teachers have
MD-PhD degrees.
The current principal is Cho Hyung woo.
Currently, all classes besides Korean and Korean history are taught in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. All classes besides Korean and Korean history use American textbooks or textbooks chosen by the teachers. The
Educational Philosophy
The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the argument ...
follows the ACG (Altruistic Mind, Creative Knowledge, Global Leadership) motto of the school. The educational style has been claimed to broaden students' viewpoints and improve students' thinking. There are also optional classes after school hours.
CSIA currently consists of a
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
and a
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
There are three buildings: the school, a dormitory for girls, and a dormitory for boys.
The middle and high school are both located in the same building. There are approximately one hundred students in each grade, so there are approximately six hundred students in total.
Each school annually accepts approximately one hundred students and a similar number graduates annually.
The high school is divided into an international and a domestic division and classes are specialized for each department.
International curriculum alumni end up enrolling in universities such as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, University of Oxford, and domestic curriculum alumni, in Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University including many other competitive institutions and programs. The school offers both domestic and international curriculums. Despite its foundation by the Unification Church, most of the students are unaffiliated with the religion and mainly decide to enroll in the school due to its competitive program, stellar facilities, and excellent admissions results.
Developments
The ratio of the accepted students to applied students in the middle school in 2008 was 22.6:1. In 2009, the ratio was 17.9:1.
And in 2010, the ratio was 17.56:1.
This had led some news organizations such as Veritas Alpha and Yonhap News to argue that the competition rate has been steadily decreasing.
CheongShim International Academy has also hosted and created several competitions over the years, including: ACG History Tournament, ACG Math Tournament, Youth Peace Camp, and
CheongShim International Academy Model United Nations (CSIAMUN) The CheongShim Foundation is currently planning to create an elementary school for students who 'had prior experience abroad.' It had submitted the plan to the
Gapyeong
Gapyeong County is a county in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was the scene of the Battle of Kapyong, a major battle of the Korean War.
Administrative Region and Language
Gapyeong County has one eup and five myeon, and its population is ...
Educational Ministry but the plan has not been approved as of March 2013.
In 2013, students from CSIA created an organization called
Openowledge.
Admission process
Generally, there are five steps to the admission process: online application, physical application, a self-introduction letter, self-improvement plans, and an
interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
.
CheongShim Middle School is the only school that accepts applicants from all of Korea
The middle school application process is divided into two general parts. In the first part, applications must submit their student records, a letter of self-introduction, and self-improvements plans worth 60 points, 25 points, and 65 points respectively. The topics on the applications are similar, but change every year.
Middle school applicants must write the plans in the school under a time limit.
The high school application process is divided into two different parts. In the first step, the applications are separated based on their English grades for their second and third year (four terms) in middle school. This part is worth 160 points. The second part is admitting the same applications, and the English grades are also included in this part. The average English grade is 1.3 class. The second part worth 40 points. There are no timed application writings for high school.
The self-improvement plans can be further subdivided into three different parts: self-studying plans, reading, and
volunteering
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serv ...
history. The self-studying plans is the most considered portion. Some news such as DongA has claimed that experience is the most valued element and that teachers' opinions are also highly valued.
Criticism
CheongShim International Academy has been frequently referred to as a 'school for the rich.'
People have argued that the lack of admissions involving students in the 'social consideration' category and the matching admissions in the 'social considerations without economic problems' category were indications that CheongShim was a school for nobility.
Critics have also noted alleged manipulations and inadequate management of the admission process.
References
External links
CSIA official website (Korean)
{{coord missing, South Korea
High schools in South Korea
Gapyeong County
International high schools
Educational institutions established in 2006
Boarding schools in South Korea
2006 establishments in South Korea