Korea International School Pangyo

In Brief

KIS Pangyo is the main event for American-curriculum families in the Seoul metro area - the largest, most established AP school in the region with genuine university partnerships and a 1,200-student community. If you are coming from KIS Seoul at Grade 5, or relocating for secondary, this is the natural first stop. The Bundang location suits families in southern Gangnam; from central Seoul it is a long daily commute.

Korea International School Pangyo is the flagship KIS campus - the school that the Seoul Campus feeds into at Grade 5 and the one most often cited alongside SFS when families discuss Korea's best international schools. With around 1,200 students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 on a purpose-built campus in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, it combines scale with a focused American college-preparatory identity. The school is WASC-accredited and holds EARCOS and WLSA membership; CIS accreditation was in process at the time of writing.

The academic programme is built around Applied Learning and AP courses. Formal partnerships with Harvard, MIT, and Seoul National University give the most academically motivated students access to research and mentorship opportunities that are rare in the international school sector. The AP offering covers all core subjects and the school's university placement record - described in school materials as consistently sending students to top-ranked US, UK, and Korean universities - is the strongest draw for families with a clear university destination in mind. The school is also a member of KAIAC, so the extracurricular sports calendar is well-structured.

Fees for 2025-26 combine a Korean Won base with a US Dollar component, totalling KRW 31.3M at Pre-K rising to KRW 42.8M for Grades 9-12. That range is mid-to-upper for the Seoul market. The Bundang-gu location works well for families in the southern Gyeonggi corridor and those willing to live in the Pangyo new town area, which has a well-developed expat community of its own. For families in central Seoul, Mapo, or Yongsan, the 40-50 minute drive each way is a genuine daily commitment; check KAIAC bus routes if school transport is important.