Chungam High School


Chungam High School is a private all-boys high school located in Eungam-dong, Eunpyeong District, Seoul, South Korea.

History

On 1 February 1965, educator Lee In-gwan initiated the establishment of "Chungam Academy." On 30 April, the school building was constructed. The academy received official approval on 10 November 1965, with Jeong Jae-geum, Lee's wife, appointed as the first chairperson of the board. The school officially opened its doors on 2 March 1969, enrolling 240 first-year students with Lee In-gwan as the principal.
In 1973, the institution officially renamed the school from "Chungam Academy" to "Chungam High School." Over the years, it expanded its academic offerings, including the addition of evening classes in 1974. By 1986, the school operated 45 daytime and 36 evening classes. As of May 2024, Chungam High School has an enrollment of 1,098 students and a faculty of 89 members.
On 10 May 2022, a fellow graduate of the alma mater, Yoon Suk Yeol, was elected as president of South Korea. Following his inauguration, Chungam High School's website nicknamed Yoon "The Son of Chungam." Yoon would later form a faction full of Chungam High School alumni within the military and government known as the Chungam Faction.
On 3 December 2024, Yoon declared emergency martial law during a televised address. Kim Yong-hyun, the Minister of National Defense and another fellow graduate of the alma mater, urged him to do so in a last-minute cabinet meeting and played a major role in the declaration. The Chungam Faction also had a major role, which led to speculations that the faction indicated Yoon's ulterior motive for a self-coup. As a result, the alma mater announced that students are not to be mandated to wear their uniforms to school until graduation in an attempt to protect them from public backlash. They also confirmed they had no association with the declaration as well as the Chungam Faction. The chair of the Chungam High School Foundation called Yoon and Kim "shameful graduates". The martial law was lifted by the National Assembly only six hours later. As a result of the martial law declaration, Yoon was impeached on 14 December and was removed from office on 4 April 2025.

Notable alumni