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Translator: penny
Chapter: 007
Chapter Title: Endangered Elementary School (2)
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Yoon-hyuk's blog saw its daily visitors surge from dozens to tens of thousands overnight.
It was because eighteen gifts from the children exploded one after another across eighteen YouTubers' channels.
The gifts and letters that followed were even more direct, openly talking about Doma Elementary School.
They candidly wrote that they wanted people to protect the school and that the kids had prepared this event themselves to spread the word.
The Doma Elementary School closure issue ignited SNS in an instant, drawing citizens to search for the school and flock to Yoon-hyuk's blog.
🏗️ Remodeling Progress
Today, a total of 102 participants joined us, including folks from Raymi Castle, current and former engineers, volunteers, and neighborhood elders. Here's the remodeling status:
Window frame replacement: 50% complete
Floor tile replacement: Scheduled after resolving material issues
Exterior wall painting: Front of school completed
Mural work: 30% complete
Furniture repair: 100 out of 280 repaired. 54 replaced
Garden landscaping: Additional planting in progress
Lawn installation: Heavy equipment requested from Raymi Castle
Below are the site photos.
The attached photos showed the once-cluttered school transforming at an astonishing pace.
In a place like Mir City, plenty of people have barely heard of it. They might say, "I've heard the name," but most don't know where it is or what it looks like.
Let alone Doma Township, a backwater corner within Mir City?
Nobody really cares if a single elementary school there gets demolished.
But things had changed.
Social issues rarely blow up, but once they do, they burn white-hot.
From rural elders to big-corp engineers, college kids to retired technicians—all volunteering to remodel that rundown school teetering on closure. The scene was pure drama.
The public loves rallying behind stories like this.
"What the hell is this?"
Kang Se-jin, policy director at the Gyeonggi Office of Education, felt his head spinning from this school that had exploded into a hot issue in mere days.
"Am I dreaming right now?"
Even the national broadcaster KBC's 9 p.m. news featured Doma Elementary School.
📺 KBC 9 PM News
It's making waves lately: Doma Elementary School. Our reporters met the people who gathered to save it right before closure.
On the broadcast screen, the anchor was interviewing a man named Lee Yoon-hyuk.
Lee Yoon-hyuk: "Doma Elementary School is the last one left in Doma Township. If it goes, these 18 kids have to bus three hours each way to school every day. And that's on top of 30 minutes from home to the bus stop—so four hours round-trip just commuting. Isn't that bad enough for Gyeonggi adults schlepping to Seoul jobs?"
Yoon-hyuk tossed out a wry jab at Gyeonggi commuters before diving in.
Lee Yoon-hyuk: "We're gonna make this school gorgeous. Turn it into something even cooler. The kind city kids would envy—though they'd never actually come. Our goal: a school too beautiful to shut down. Even if we fail, at least the kids'll have memories boarding that bus. But..."
He angled the camera toward the school.
Lee Yoon-hyuk: "You really gonna tear down a school this pretty?"
Half the playground was already lush with fresh grass.
Administration chases efficiency. Keeping a school with just 18 kids looks bad on paper.
But chase efficiency alone, and what's government different from a corporation?
Lee Yoon-hyuk: "Sometimes society has to spend a little extra to protect what's precious. Everyone here gets that. Hope the Gyeonggi Office of Education does too."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Fresh green grass. Sleek new windows. Spotless, sturdy floor tiles. Classrooms neatly furnished with cute desks, chairs, and cabinets.
A stunning garden out back.
Murals adorning every wall.
The school itself felt like a massive work of art.
"Ever heard of forest kindergartens?"
At the evening BBQ bash, Yoon-hyuk addressed the village elders.
"Just what it sounds like: kindergartens set in the woods. Moms who want their kids romping in nature send 'em there. Bug-watching, dirt play, leaf-collecting—you name it. They're as hot with parents as English immersion spots."
Yoon-hyuk had modeled Doma Elementary's remodel after forest kindergartens.
This wasn't some rundown rural dump facing the axe.
It was a premium elementary school anyone would kill to attend.
"But we need top-tier teaching too. That's where you elders come in."
Yoon-hyuk's ace in the hole: teachers.
Of course, keep the two beloved homeroom teachers and the admin staff the kids adored.
But level it up.
A premium school deserved elite instructors rivaling city cram schools—even if not Gangnam's elite.
And source them from...
"Term-contract guest lecturers."
This time, salaries required. Lecturers gotta get paid.
Funded by Doma's notables chipping in. Recruits would be contractors chilling in empty village homes on "village vacay," sharing expertise with the kids while pocketing solid pay.
"Let's snag one native English speaker too."
Every premium school needs that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Who the fuck approved those volunteer credits?"
Kang Se-jin stormed down to the Mir Education Support Office the moment he heard, livid.
"Province policy is closure, full stop—and some dipshit greenlights credits for college punks decorating it? Why fix up a dead school!"
He hurled a stack of files, bellowing.
The civil servants shrank, heads bowed.
"Mir City's budget's razor-thin. Post-Raymi Castle in Yeokdong, we're shifting an elementary there. No spare change for a podunk school with a dozen snot-nosed brats! You morons!"
Kang booted a cabinet.
Running one school ain't cheap: textbooks, lab supplies, after-school programs, admin costs, safety measures, events, gear, maintenance, utilities, teacher salaries.
Economies of scale hit schools hard. Rural micros cost more per kid. Doma was a budget black hole.
Kang aimed to axe it, redirect funds to Seongnam districts—padding his shot at superintendent.
"Fucking brain-dead idiots."
But now it was a goddamn mess.
Pushing closure now? Career suicide. Next 9 p.m. news could brand him "that school-killer."
"Why approve volunteer credits..."
Fuming, he knew it wasn't the credits.
Clerks just rubber-stamped rural volunteers sprucing a school. "Free labor? Volunteers? Click!" Yoon-hyuk probably low expectations—but lit up when approved.
"Uh... Director."
His secretary piped up cautiously.
"Doma principal... invited a native teacher. Wants her temp-contracted."
"Ha. Fuck me."
Kang clutched his head.
"Whaddya think? Do it. Buck anything now and we're toast. Approve."
Principal hiring a native? Laughable. Not the principal.
"Lee Yoon-hyuk."
The puppet master behind Doma's chaos. Didn't hide it—emerged naturally as the leader.
He rallied volunteers, roped in Raymi Castle, united locals and retirees.
All him.
Even those faux-gift missile strikes on YouTubers.
Kang's political nose twitched. Something unnatural—an imugi—stirring in Mir City.
"Scrap the closure plan. Full stop."
Kang issued the bitter order.
That school was off-limits now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"They halted the closure plan!"
The village head bellowed.
He'd called the Gyeonggi Office daily, grilling them—finally got his win.
"Woooaaah!"
Cheers erupted from grandpas, grandmas, retirees, workers, college kids.
"Bear Mushroom Grandpa suddenly charged over and bear-hugged Yoon-hyuk.
"Teacher Lee! Nah—Mayor Lee! Hahaha!"
He straight-up dubbed him mayor.
"I think I messed up before. Huh? Didn't spot the VIP!"
"Aigoo! What a win! Yoon-hyuk, how'd you orchestrate all this?"
Pajama Grandma beamed with joy.
"Really turned out great. All thanks to you all."
Yoon-hyuk phoned Choi Jun-taek, who'd bailed early for work.
"Closure's off, Director."
-Good job.
"Told ya. Grass was the right call?"
-Huge score. Look at what we gained for peanuts.
Raymi Castle's prestige shot straight up. The camera flap was local trivia; this was national.
Builders live or die by brand.
Consumers peg 'em as thugs by default.
Raymi flipped the script: "Thugs everywhere—but not us."
"Even if Raymi pulled that pixel stunt recently."
-Ahem.
Choi cleared his throat.
"Deep thanks, Director. Mir City's ripe for growth. We'll cross paths plenty."
-Thrilled with a partner like you. Nail that mayoral run.
"Bids stay fair and square."
-Naturally. But you'll factor this school saga into vendor picks, right?
"Damn right."
Same vibe hit shareholders: "Raymi's different." Baked-in image to propel future bids. Stock jumped 10% in two days.
Raymi's outlay? Grass, windows, trees at an elementary.
Chump change for a megacorp.
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