Korean immersion school plans move from St. Paul to Maplewood

Sejong Academy charter school, currently located in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood, must first be approved for a conditional use permit from the city of Maplewood.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
May 23, 2024 at 11:27AM
First grader MinJoong Hauck 6, celebrated Chuseok (a Korean harvest holiday) at Sejong Academy in 2021. The St. Paul charter schools is planning to relocate to Maplewood. The Korean immersion tuition-free charter school celebrates Chuseok with not only our Sejong community, but also the greater community. This allows us to share the Korean harvest holiday with everyone in our new space, as we also recently moved to the Hamline-Midway neighborhood. Thursday September 23, 2021 in St. Paul, MN. (Jerry Holt)

Sejong Academy, a Korean language immersion charter school in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood, is planning to move and reopen in Maplewood when school starts in the fall.

Sejong, with grades pre-kindergarten through 12, has agreed to a seven-year lease at the former school affiliated with Gethsemane Lutheran Church, at 2410 Stillwater Road in Maplewood, according to a blog post from Maplewood City Manager Michael Sable.

Gethsemane’s school closed more than two years ago, Sable said.

Sable wrote that schools are allowed in any Maplewood zoning district with a conditional use permit. The Maplewood Planning Commission is expected to review a conditional use permit for the school June 18, a decision that will later undergo review by the City Council.

The lease gives the school an option to renew for five more years after the initial seven. The school is expected to serve 250 students.

Sejong Academy previewed the move in an Instagram post this month:

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Greta Kaul

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Greta Kaul is the Star Tribune’s built environment reporter.

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