KIS’s origin can be traced back to Saturday School, which started in 1960 with just 6 students to provide for the needs of the Korean community in Hong Kong. An increasingly larger community’s needs and support from the Korean government was instrumental in securing and establishing KIS at Sai Wan Ho and today, we are indeed proud to serve KIS which not only cater to the Korean community’s needs but also welcome an international body of students from over 25 countries.
Full stream Korean Section and International School have grown over the years, and whilst KIS suffered ups and downs with the fortune of Hong Kong itself, we are now on firm grounds to continue to grow with completion in 2013 of the second extension to existing buildings that will allow us to offer more classrooms and facilities to meet the increasing demand for international education.
We believe firmly in providing a secure and stable environment in which students from all backgrounds can grow, work and play together while in Hong Kong so that they can go anywhere in the world with full confidence. We hope that the special environment at KIS, where two curriculums coexist side by side, whilst challenging, will provide extra stimulation and motivation.
From its very beginning, KIS was served by Korean community representatives led by the Chairman of the Korean Residents’ Association serving concurrently as Chairman of the Board of Directors of KIS, and this unbroken chain of service has been crucial in supporting KIS over the years to what we are today.
We are grateful to the HK government for allowing us to provide international education in HK, as well as the Korean government for their continuing support. We would also like to thank all members of the KIS community, from students, parents, teachers, and staff, as well as leading Korean community representatives for steadfast support over the years, and look forward to working with all for many more years to come.
Korean International School was granted land at Sai Wan Ho campus in 1992 and was incorporated in 1993. Original stakeholders included representatives from the Korean community and the Korean Consulate, who elected the Board of Directors to oversee the welfare of the school.
The Board of Directors was given the power to appoint Committees to manage the school and various Committees were formed and dismantled as the school saw the completion of the building of the first phase and second phase. The most recent such committees are the Building Committee to oversee the extension phase of facilities due for completion by summer of 2013, and the Fundraising Committee.
At KIS, two schools are running two separate curriculums: the Korean Section following the Korean curriculum set by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, with the Principal appointed by the Ministry, and the International Section which follows Cambridge International Program, with internationally appointed Principal and teaching staff. Both schools are open to all applicants residing in HK.
Given this duality, the Board appointed a Supervisor to head up the Management Committee whose members include representatives from the Korean community, Principals of both sections, PTA representatives from both sections, Chief Operating Officer representing school administration, and a representative from the Korean Consulate General.
Korean International School started in 1988 with the establishment of Korean School, officially recognized and supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea to provide continuing education based on Korean curriculum for Korean students in HK.
To meet increasing demand, the Korean community represented by the Korean Residents’ Association of HK together with the then Korean Consul General, approached the HK government to grant a permanent facility, the success of which saw construction at Sai Wan Ho campus starting in 1992 with Korean International School being established in 1993. First classes moved in in 1994.
