CHANGWON — South Gyeongsang Province has 5,358 students eligible for gifted education, the fifth-largest number in the country, but no school to teach them. The education committee of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Council on the 13th called for Gyeongnam Science High School to be converted into a gifted school.
The open call for designating and converting science and technology institute-affiliated gifted schools, led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, accepts applications from seven provinces and metropolitan cities that have no gifted school and will select about three. The eligible regions are Gangwon State, South Gyeongsang Province, North Gyeongsang Province, Ulsan, Jeonbuk State, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and South Chungcheong Province. The program aims to narrow regional gaps in science education for gifted students and to cultivate science and technology talent.
As of 2025, South Gyeongsang Province had 5,358 students eligible for gifted education, the highest among the regions covered by the open call. Without a gifted school, however, students have limited opportunities to pursue advanced coursework and research experience.
The education committee said linking Gyeongnam Science High School's teaching capacity with the faculty and research facilities of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) would provide advanced coursework and research opportunities. Cooperation with Gyeongsang National University, local research institutes and industry would also allow specialized programs tied to the province's strategic industries such as aerospace, the committee said.
The South Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education, the provincial government, the city of Jinju, UNIST and Gyeongsang National University have run a task force since April to prepare for the conversion. On the 2nd of this month, they held a public hearing to gather views from parents, educators and experts.
The committee said it would review institutional and financial support needed to launch and operate the gifted school and would back cooperation among the agencies involved. It also plans to examine whether expanded local admissions and measures to supplement access to existing science high schools translate into wider educational opportunities.
"South Gyeongsang Province has strong demand for gifted science education along with an industrial and research base including aerospace, so it should use these strengths to offer local students broader education and research opportunities," said Jeong Jae-wook, chair of the education committee. "The committee has united behind Gyeongnam Science High School's bid, with the aim of building an environment in South Gyeongsang Province to nurture future science and technology talent."
"To win selection, the region must speak with one voice and the education office, local governments and universities must work closely together," he added. "The council will fulfill its role and responsibility so that cooperation continues after selection and the gifted school operates on a stable footing."
Kwon Soon-ki, superintendent of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education, also said at a news conference marking 100 days in office, held at the provincial education office on the 12th, that "if an existing science high school were converted into a gifted school, Gyeongnam Science High School is by far the one that would perform the role." The superintendent said the school ranks among the top in the country and that the absence of a gifted school, given the province's economy and population, is reason enough to secure one.
Gyeongnam Science High School, which opened in 1984, is the only science high school from that era that has not been converted into a gifted school, the provincial education office said.
The provincial education office will file an application by the 16th to convert and designate Gyeongnam Science High School, located in Jinju, as a UNIST-affiliated gifted school. Under the open call, the Ministry of Science and ICT will select candidate schools through a review in November, and final designation will follow deliberation by the Education Ministry's Central Committee for the Promotion of Gifted Education in December.