TCIS Foundation History Assembly

Last week, after recognizing Korea's National Foundation Day, a celebration of the creation of the first Korean government state, TCIS brought the entire student and faculty community together for a TCIS Foundation Assembly. 

If you don't know, TCIS has continuously delivered international education in Daejeon since 1958, and its history goes back much further than that. The TCIS Head of School retold the story of the school's history, and students at all division levels shared about what it means to be a part of the TCIS story - today.

Founded in 1900 as the Pyongyang Foreign School (PFS) in what is now North Korea, the institution that closed and would later reopen in Daejeon as Taejon Foreign School, TCIS has a rich and enduring history. Initially established to provide education primarily for the children of American Presbyterian missionaries, the school's mission evolved over time to cater to a broader range of international students. Following the Korean War and the subsequent division of the Korean Peninsula, the missions groups in Korea, and indeed faculty and alumni from PFS, joined together to reopen a similar school in a location that was further from the conflicted northern border.

In 1986, recognizing the growing demand for international education in South Korea, TCS officially transitioned to Taejon Christian International School (TCIS). This period marked a significant turning point in its history, expanding its mission to offer a world-class international curriculum and create a diverse learning environment. TCIS has continued to grow and adapt, earning a reputation for academic excellence and a commitment to fostering global citizens. Today, it serves students from more than 25 nationalities with the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and a myriad of extracurricular activities, embodying its mission to "cultivate internationally-minded learners who lead in purposeful change."