Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS) is a kindergarten (age 5) to 12th grade college-preparatory private international school, operated under a joint agreement between the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation and the Network of International Christian Schools. It is accredited by
WASC and
ACSI. The school offers both secular and faith-based instructional tracks drawn from the American and standards-based instructional models, as well as a variety of
Advanced Placement (AP) courses at the high school level. YISS graduates regularly gain admission to many highly selective schools; graduates have attended Stanford, MIT, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Duke, West Point, NYU Stern, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, University College London, and University of St. Andrews (UK).
The student body of 1,000 students represents more than 50 countries.
School
Location
YISS is located in
Itaewon
Itaewon (; IPA ) is multi-cultural commercial area located in Seoul, South Korea. it is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Seoul, known for its nightlife and trendy restaurants.
Etymology
The name Itaewon was originally derived from the n ...
,
Yongsan-gu
Yongsan District (, ) is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea.
Yongsan has a population of 231,685 (2020) and has a geographic area of , and is divided into 19 ''Dong (administrative division), dong'' (adminis ...
. The school is built on 23,100 square meters of land leased from the
eoul Metropolitan Governmentin 2005 for 50 years at a value of 50 billion won (US$50 million). The
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) is a ministry under the Government of South Korea. It is concerned with regulating some economic policy, especially with regard to the industrial and energy sectors. The ministry also works to e ...
provided funding of 13 billion won (US$13 million) for construction costs and th
Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI)financed additional costs of 20 billion won (US$20 million).
Academics
In 2018, the SAT scores of the 12th grade students was 1,460 (U.S. national average was 1,068). In 2018, the average ACT Score of the 12th grade students was 30.5 (U.S. national average was 21). YISS offers 26 Advanced Placement (AP) Courses. Half of the high school students were enrolled in at least 1 AP course in 2018 with 93% of the students scoring 3+ and 51% of the students scoring a 5.
Colleges and Universities
Students have been admitted to global educational institutions including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Cornell University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, Pepperdine University, University of Toronto (Canada), University of York (UK), University of Queensland (Australia), Goethe University (Germany), S P Jain School of Global Management (Singapore), Seoul National University (Korea), Korea University (Korea), and Yonsei University (Korea).
Facilities
During the summer of 2017, the Korean Foreign Schools Foundation (KFSF) initiated and funded a major renovation of the entrance to YISS. The new additions include a new gate, trellises, sidewalks, a pedestrian staircase, terraced seating, landscaping, and a large metallic mosaic facade. During the summer of 2021 the kindergarten classrooms were extensively renovated to facilitate play-based learning, and a new kindergarten playground area was installed.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports
YISS competes with international and Department of Defense (DoDDS) schools as a member of th
Korean American Interscholastic Activities Conference (KAIAC)in the Blue Division. For international competition, YISS is part of th
Asia Christian Schools Conference (ACSC) which includes schools from Guam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand.
High School Fall Sports (August-October):
* Cross Country (Varsity Boys, JV Boys, Varsity Girls, JV Girls)
* Tennis (Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls)
* Volleyball (Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls, JV Girls)
* ACSC Swim Championships
* ACSC Boys Soccer Tournament
High School Winter Sports (November-February):
* Basketball (Varsity Boys, JV Boys, Varsity Girls, JV Girls)
* Cheerleading (Varsity Girls)
High School Spring Sports (February-May):
* Soccer (Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls)
* Swimming (Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls)
* Track and Field (Varsity Boys, Varsity Girls)
Middle School Quarter 1 Sports (August-October):
* Cross Country
* Soccer
Middle School Quarter 2 Sport (October-December):
* Swimming
Middle School Quarter 3 Sport (January-March):
* Volleyball
Middle School Quarter 4 Sports (March-May):
* Basketball
* Tennis
YISS GOES & Immersion
The Guardians Outreach Education & Service (GOES) program (formerly known as Guardians with a Message (GWAM)) provides high school students with opportunities to serve and learn in Korea and throughout Asia during Spring Break. About half of the high school student body participates.
Immersion is a program created with middle schoolers in mind. There are three foundational pieces of this program: spiritual growth and development, community service, and cultural immersion.
GOES and Immersion trips send students to places such as
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Baguio
Baguio ( ,
), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
,
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
Yanji
Yanji (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연길, ''Yeon-gil;'' Hangul: 옌지, ''Yenji;'' alternately romanized as Yenki) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Its population i ...
,
Gunsan
Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an int ...
, and
Taebaek
Taebaek () is a city in Gangwon province, South Korea. Its name is shared with that of the Taebaek Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Taebaek is the highest city in South Korea.
Attractions
Manggyeongsa Temple in Hyeol-dong, at an elevation ...
.
Others
Students participate in Model United Nation events such as BEIMUN
and SEOMUN. They also participate in the Chess Tournament.
Controversy
There has been some controversy as to how students are admitted, particularly those of Korean ethnicity. In 2008 the school was accused of admitting unqualified students who were children of Korean staff within the schools.
.
See also
*
Namsan (Seoul)
Officially Namsan Mountain or Mount Namsan, lit. "South Mountain") is a -high peak in Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Although known as Mongmyeoksan, or 목멱산 / in the past, it is now commonly referred to as Mt. Namsan. It offers some hikin ...
References
External links
Official websiteOfficial KAIAC website
{{International schools in South Korea
Schools in South Korea
Educational institutions established in 1990
American international schools in South Korea
Christian schools in South Korea
International schools in Seoul
International schools in South Korea
1990 establishments in South Korea
Yongsan District