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Curriculum Korean Curriculum, Advanced Placement (AP)
Taught languages English
Typical class size 20
Strengths Academic Enrichment, Languages, Service and Sustainability
Clubs Academic and Intellectual, Community and Service, Leadership and Professional
Stages Secondary School, High School
Introduction
Busan International High School (BIHS) sits in Busanjin District, Busan. It teaches the Korean Curriculum alongside Advanced Placement (AP) coursework, with AP testing centers designated since 2008. BIHS has participated in UNESCO's Associated Schools Network since 2002 and maintains active international links through sister schools, exchanges, and BIHS Global Forum events. Partnerships include Komaba High School (Tsukuba University), Kobe International High School, and Lawrence S. Ting Memorial School, reflecting BIHS's emphasis on global learning. The campus features landmarks such as the Albatross symbol tower and Bongdang Park, and the school modernized its main building and annex with asbestos removal completed in 2025. BIHS has been designated autonomous for five years starting in 2025, and it maintains ongoing curriculum planning for 2024–2026. The school supports student engagement through regular and autonomous clubs, volunteer activities, and leadership and international study opportunities via its International Exchange program. It welcomes families seeking global learning.
105-70 Baekyanggwanmun-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan 47162, South Korea
The Essentials
Busan International High School (BIHS) has 480 pupils, typical class sizes of 20, instruction in English, Korean.
Location
Busan International High School is located at 105-70 Baegyanggwanmun-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, 47162, Republic of Korea. The school sits in central Busan within Busanjin District and is accessible by Busan's public transport network. The campus is in an urban area with nearby residential and educational facilities.
Stages
BIHS is a public high school for upper secondary students. It operates across three grade levels (grades 10–12) and enrolls several hundred students each year, typically forming multiple classes per year.
Type
BIHS is a public, co-educational high school with the Special Purpose High School designation focused on international studies. It is not described as a boarding school in official materials.
Additional learning support
Public information does not publicly publish BIHS-specific SEN provisions. As a district public high school, SEN services exist within the wider Busan Metropolitan City Education Office framework, but BIHS‑specific facilities or programs are not listed in official materials.
Country affiliation
There is no country affiliation for BIHS. It operates as a public high school within South Korea's national and municipal education system under the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education.
Religious affiliation
BIHS has no religious affiliation listed in official materials. It is part of the public education system.
School day structure
BIHS operates as a daytime, weekday program (주간). Classes run on Monday to Friday, with a standard school day typical of public high schools in Korea. (Classification and day type published in public records; times may vary.)
Bus service
Public transit access to the area is available via Busan's bus network; nearby lines include several routes such as 17, 23, and 179. Specific BIHS shuttle or house pickup details are not publicly published; families should consult the school's transportation office for current routes and pickup points. (Public-transit proximity supports commuting; not all routes may be available to every area.)
Fees
Application fees
- There is no separate application fee or entrance tuition charged to students as part of standard school costs. Busan International High School is a public (municipal) international high school and does not levy routine tuition or entrance charges typical of private international schools.
Tuition fees by year group (per term / per year)
- Grades covered: high school (three-year programme). - Tuition: no tuition is charged for any year group. The school's core instructional fees (tuition / school-operation support fee) are provided under public free-education arrangements and are not billed to parents. Lunch is also provided as a school-covered item. There are therefore no per-term or per-year tuition charges for students.
Billing schedule and payment terms (paid items only)
- Items that are charged to parents (not covered by the school's public funding) are billed on a monthly or per-event basis as appropriate: dormitory (boarding) fees and meal charges for boarding students are billed monthly; field trips, experiential-learning fees, certain after-school programme fees and special-event charges are billed per event or term. Parents are billed for those items when they apply to or are used by the student.
Boarding fees (if applicable)
- Dormitory fee (boarding): KRW 70,000 per month (approximate, billed monthly). - Meals for boarding students (breakfast + dinner in addition to standard school lunch where applicable): roughly KRW 160,000 per month (approximate, billed monthly). - Dormitory accommodation: rooms are configured as two students per room (2-person rooms) with shared facilities by floor; the dormitory provides standard bedding, desks and storage as part of the boarding arrangement. Any specific room-assignment practices or changes in configuration are managed by the school.
Other costs and typical additional fees
- Items commonly charged to families (user-pay items) include: after-school programme fees, optional remedial or enrichment classes, boarding-related meal supplements, field-trip and experiential-learning fees, and similar activity-based costs. These items are not part of core tuition and are charged only to participating students. - Uniforms and personal learning materials: families incur the cost of school uniforms and personal study materials; uniform purchase is a common, separate cost for parents (uniforms are eligible for the usual tax/education deductions under national rules where applicable).
Refund information
- No detailed, publicly posted refund schedule for boarding, meal, excursion or other ancillary fees was located in the source materials used for this summary. Refunds for paid items (dormitory, meals, trips, after-school programmes) are handled according to the school's internal payment and cancellation policies and are applied on a case-by-case basis; parents should expect refund decisions to follow the school's stated administrative rules for the specific fee item. The available sources list fee amounts and which items are user-paid but do not publish a line-by-line refund table.
Fee payment options
- Specific published payment channels (for example: exact bank account numbers, virtual-account procedures, school payment portals or card-acceptance policies) were not found in the public source items used for this summary. In practice for the charged items listed above, public schools in the region typically collect payments by school-issued payment notices and by bank transfer or school office collection methods; however, the school's formal accepted payment methods are set by its administrative office and may vary. No authoritative, itemised payment-method list was located in the available sources.
Summary of what is and is not included in these fees
- Included (no charge to families as core school fees): instruction/tuition, school-operation support fees, and the standard midday school lunch. - Parent-paid items (examples and typical amounts): dormitory (KRW 70,000/month), boarding meals supplement (≈ KRW 160,000/month), after-school programme fees, and fees for field trips or special experiential activities.
Note: The above figures are drawn from contemporary public reporting and school-summary sources and reflect the fee items and amounts reported for Busan International High School. Where specific procedural details (exact payment channels, a line-by-line refund timetable, or an official downloadable fee schedule) were not published in the consulted sources, those procedural items were not included in this summary because no authoritative public statement of them was found.
Academics
Busan International High School (BIHS) teaches Korean Curriculum, Advanced Placement (AP).
Curriculum
BIHS is a public high school in Busan established in 1997, specializing in humanities and social sciences as part of Korea's International High School program. It is classified as an International High School under Korea's Special Purpose High School system, and classes are organized into seven homerooms per grade rather than by language major. Students choose a second foreign language from Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and French. Approximately 160 students are admitted each year, and the cohort is divided into eight classes of around twenty students. BIHS maintains a strong international orientation through partnerships and programs, including joint activities with Waseda University (Japan) and Tsinghua University (China). In line with Korea's three-year upper secondary model, BIHS operates over three years (grades 10–12) as a public high school with a humanities and social sciences focus.
Wellbeing
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
The school does not publicly disclose information regarding Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) provision, staff, or initiatives.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
The school does not publicly disclose information regarding Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision or staff, and it is not identified as a specialist SEN institution; no details on kinds of SEN supported are publicly disclosed.
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
The school does not publicly disclose information on English as an Additional Language (EAL) provision or staff; it is not clear from public pages whether EAL support is provided.
Mental Wellbeing
The school does not publicly disclose information on mental wellbeing programs, staff, or initiatives.
Safeguarding
The school does not publicly disclose safeguarding policies or child protection provisions on its public pages.
Admissions
Admissions
1. Identify eligible admission category and plan your application. Busan International High School uses several admission tracks for new students. The main track is General Admissions (자기주도학습전형) with 128 seats, followed by Social Integration (사회통합전형) with 32 seats. In addition, there are non-regular tracks called 정원외전형, which include National Merit (국가보훈대상자), Special Admission (특례입학전형), and Foreigner Special (외국인 특별전형); quotas are defined to total 160 seats. These category quotas are specified in the 2025 admissions guidance.
Scholarships
3) Scholarships and financial aid. Busan International High School is a public high school, and tuition is generally provided free of charge for domestic students; additional costs (if any) are not specified in the public admission materials. Publicly documented pathways for financial support are category-based admissions (교육지원대상자전형 and 국가보훈대상자) that allow for special consideration or waivers under government guidelines, but there is no separate school-sponsored scholarship program publicly described. The admission framework notes education-support and merit-based categories as ways to allocate seats, which can influence cost relief for eligible applicants.
Waitlist
2) Waitlist/pool considerations. Publicized BIHS admissions describe the main tracks and their quotas, with no publicly documented formal waitlist procedure. Non-regular tracks (정원외전형) exist to fill seats as needed, including National Merit, Special Admission, and Foreigner Special, but a separate waiting pool is not described in the public admission materials. In practice, families may be considered within those categories if spaces become available, but there is no explicit waitlist system published.
FAQs
Where is Busan International High School (BIHS) located, and what kind of school is it?
BIHS is in Busanjin District, Busan, at 105-70 Baekyangmun-ro. It is a public municipal special-purpose international high school that operates a residential dormitory program and is co-educational.
What is the age range and the student setup at BIHS?
The age range is not published in the available materials. BIHS serves high school students and offers a boarding option as part of its program.
What does BIHS's curriculum structure look like for prospective students?
BIHS publishes a 2026 academic year curriculum schedule and three-year curricula for incoming cohorts (2024, 2025, and 2026), plus a 2026 all-grade curriculum operation table, to guide lifelong and transfer students.
Is BIHS a boarding school, and what does that imply for students?
Yes. Boarding is provided and effectively mandatory for enrolled students, with on-campus dormitories and related meal arrangements as part of the program.
What should families expect in terms of admissions fees or costs to apply?
There is no published fixed application or entrance examination fee in the reviewed admission materials; the admissions process requires formal submission of materials.
What costs should families plan for besides the on-campus tuition in BIHS's public school setup?
Expect separate charges for dormitory accommodation and meals, plus uniforms, textbooks/materials, and any program or trip fees billed per activity. There is no publicly posted, standard per-year classroom tuition for BIHS since it operates as a public international high school.
Are there waitlists or scholarships mentioned for BIHS admissions?
The published materials reviewed do not provide details on waitlists or scholarships.
How are bills issued and what payment methods are used for BIHS charges?
Billing for dormitory, meals, activities, and optional programs follows the school's administrative schedule. The materials reviewed do not specify exact payment methods, so families should confirm with the school administration.
What makes BIHS academically distinctive based on the information provided?
BIHS publishes a dedicated 2026 curriculum schedule and three-year plans for incoming cohorts (2024–2026), and it provides an all-grade curriculum operation table for 2026. It also hosts a Language Talent Education Institute with gifted language programs.
Is there a language-focused gifted program at BIHS?
Yes. The Language Talent Education Institute offers English Gifted Class and Humanities/Social Sciences Gifted Class.
Do we have data on BIHS higher education outcomes or typical university destinations?
No higher education outcomes or college placement data are published in the materials provided.
Do we have information about class sizes or student-teacher ratios?
No data on class sizes or student-teacher ratios is provided in the available materials.
What should a family know about BIHS's on-campus life in terms of meals and housing?
Boarding is mandatory and on-campus dormitories are part of the program. Meals are provided through the on-site cafeteria, and meal charges are billed separately from classroom tuition.
Are there any house systems, uniforms, or governance details available for BIHS?
There is no information provided about a house system, uniform specifics, or governance details in the available materials.
What international affiliations or recognitions does BIHS have?
BIHS has been part of the UNESCO Associated School Network since May 30, 2002, and gained autonomous school status on February 4, 2003. It also hosts BIHS Global Forum and maintains several international MOUs with partner schools.
What international partnerships does BIHS have with other schools?
BIHS has formed MOUs with Tsukuba University Affiliated Komaba High School (Japan, 2011), Kobe International High School (Japan, 2016), Lawrence S. Ting Memorial School (Vietnam, 2018), and Triangle Mathematics and Science Academy (USA, 2024). BIHS also hosted the Asian Youth Forum in 2018 and the BIHS Global Forum since 2010.
Are there any notable campus features or milestones mentioned for BIHS?
Historically notable milestones include the unveiling of the Albatross symbol tower in 2006 and Bongdang Park completion in 2007. The school has actively grown its global forum activities and international partnerships since 2010.
What languages or language-focused opportunities does BIHS offer?
BIHS offers English language-focused gifted programs through the Language Talent Education Institute, including an English Gifted Class, and a Humanities/Social Sciences Gifted Class. Other language offerings are not specified in the provided materials.
Does BIHS provide bilingual or immersion language programs?
No explicit bilingual or immersion program details are provided in the materials; the documented language offering centers on gifted English and humanities/social sciences tracks.
When was BIHS planned, established, and celebrated milestones in its community history?
BIHS planning began on December 28, 1996; establishment was approved on December 24, 1997, and the school opened on March 4, 1998 with 116 new students. UNESCO membership followed in 2002, autonomous status in 2003, and notable milestones include the Albatross tower (2006) and Bongdang Park (2007).
