Royal Russell School starts building its first overseas campus in Busan

Construction of Royal Russell School's first campus outside Britain began in Busan on 19 October, the city government said, with the school due to open in Myeongji International City in August 2028.

The campus in Gangseo District will be the first foreign educational institution in south-east Korea. It will take up to 1,350 pupils from kindergarten to middle school, and a high school is to be added later through an extension, the Aju Business Daily reported.

The project will cost 179.9 billion won, according to the Aju Business Daily and the Kukmin Ilbo. Six buildings, one storey underground and four above, will give 19,286 square metres of floor space on a 29,547 square metre site. Plans include classrooms, an administration block, a multipurpose auditorium and a swimming pool.

Busan mayor Jeon Jae-soo called the start of work "a meaningful first step" towards a global education base for the city. He said the agencies involved would push ahead with building and opening preparations so that the August 2028 date holds.

The timetable has already slipped once. In February the city said it expected to break ground in September 2026. To keep the opening on track, it asked the Korea Land and Housing Corporation, which is developing the site, to put the work out to emergency tender. The corporation signed a contract on 1 October, and Ace Construction is the builder. Excavation is due to start in mid-November, with the buildings finished in June 2028.

The Busan school will use the same academic management system and core curriculum as Royal Russell's school in London, which was founded in 1853. The Korea Times reported in February that the London school will hire all of the teachers and oversee the curriculum.

Admissions are the bigger change for Korean families. Most international schools in Korea require three years of residence abroad. Royal Russell Busan will instead admit Korean children on merit through entrance exams in English and mathematics, the Korea Times reported. The school will teach compulsory Korean language, social studies and history, and pupils who complete those courses will receive Korean academic accreditation alongside their British qualifications. Annual tuition is expected to be about 30 million won (about US$20,700).

When the city first set out the plan in May 2025, it said Korean nationals would make up between 30 and 50 per cent of pupils, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. The plan also included a second British school, Wellington College, which would start with early years and primary classes. At that time Korea had seven international schools certified by the Ministry of Education: two in Incheon, one in Daegu and four on Jeju.