On March 2, an entrance ceremony was held for just one student at the Gusong Elementary School in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do.

The main character of the entrance ceremony is Park Ji Hwan (age 7), the only student entering Gusong Elementary School this year. Park Ji Hwan shared, "I am really happy to enter school. I don't have friends, but I will play bowling and dominoes with the older kids."

During the ceremony, the principal handed gifts to the only student entering the school, and the 15 older students welcomed him. After the entrance ceremony, Park Ji Hwan was able to meet the three older students in the grade right above him who will be sharing the same classroom.

In the province, if there are fewer than four students in a grade level, classrooms are combined into one classroom for the two grades (i.e., 1st and 2nd-grade students share the same classroom).

There are some elementary schools that even had 0 students enroll this year.

According to the Gangwon-do Office of Education, there are 20 elementary schools in the province without students this year, including branch schools such as Yangyang Hyeonseong Elementary School, Samcheok Shindong Elementary School, Pyeongchang Bangrim Elementary School, and Jeongseon Yeoryang Elementary School. There are 20 schools where there is only one new student, like Gusong Elementary School.

The number of elementary school students has decreased. Last year, the number of elementary school students in the province was 71,530, but this year it was counted as 69,523. This is a decrease of 2,007 students compared to the prior year.

An official from the provincial office of education told JTBC, "The number of elementary school students is decreasing because of the low birth rate (in Korea). In particular, there are no children in the rural areas. It is not unusual for rural schools to offer specialized courses."

He added, "There is a joke that it is better to save the money and go to a high-end silver town at the end of one's life than spending that money on rearing children. I believe that measures are urgently needed to improve the low birth rates such as giving tax benefits."