Daegu International School

Daegu International School is located in Dong-gu, Daegu, South Korea. The campus address is 22 Palgong-ro 50-gil, Dong-gu, Daegu 41021. The school sits in the Esiapolis area near the International Fashion Design District and is accessible by Daegu's road network. It is about a 30-minute drive from downtown Daegu and around a 10-minute drive from Daegu International Airport.

DIS offers Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School, providing a continuous K–12 education path.

DIS is a co-educational, K-12 international school. On-campus dormitory facilities are available for students in Grades 5–12, indicating boarding options for some year groups.

DIS provides an EAL (English as an Additional Language) program and a dedicated social-emotional support structure led by a K-12 counselor. College counseling is available to high school students as part of the guidance program.

DIS is a branch campus of Lee Academy in Lee, Maine, USA; the two schools share the same American private school curriculum and issue dual diplomas.

There is no religious affiliation publicly stated for DIS.

The school day runs 8:00 a.m. to 2:35 p.m., Monday through Friday. After-school activities run from 2:45 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. on select days.

DIS operates school bus routes within Daegu. The bus provider is Daejin Tour, and routes include multiple stops with scheduled departures (examples show early-morning departures around 6:50–7:50 a.m.).

DIS is a K–12 international school in Daegu delivering a U.S.-based curriculum taught entirely in English, centered on the Common Core standards and Advanced Placement. The school is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). DIS is organized into Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School divisions. Graduates receive both a DIS diploma and a Lee Academy diploma through the partnership with Lee Academy in Maine. Advanced Placement courses are available in high school.

Daegu International School provides a K-12 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program led by the SEL Counselor (Ms. Spaeth); the counselor meets with students to guide their personal growth, collaborates with teachers and parents, creates a safe space for emotional processing, and serves as a team member for safeguarding.

The school does not publicly disclose information on which specific Special Educational Needs (SEN) it can support or whether it operates as a specialist SEN institution.

English is the language of instruction at DIS, with the curriculum delivered solely in English; a separate EAL program is not described on the site.

Mental wellbeing is supported through a dedicated K-12 Social-Emotional Counselor who meets with students to support their social, emotional, behavioral, and academic growth and collaborates with staff and families to maintain a positive environment.

Daegu International School's Child Safeguarding Policy is anchored in international law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; the school provides annual training for all staff and undertakes investigations in line with its policies, with the policy endorsed by the Board of Trustees.

Step 1 — Online application: Submit your child's personal, academic, and any required documents through the online application portal. All materials must be submitted by the deadline to complete the application; incomplete or late submissions may disqualify the applicant from moving to the next stage. For the 2026-2027 cycle, the application window runs from January 14, 2026 at 9:00 AM to February 11, 2026 at 4:00 PM. The school emphasizes that all submitted materials should be in order and complete to be considered.

Step 2 — Application fee: After completing the online submission and document review, applicants receive instructions for paying the application fee. The application fee is 250,000 KRW for all grade levels and covers the costs of application review, admissions testing, and evaluation, and it is non-refundable. Payment details and deadlines are provided by the Admissions Office as part of the process.

Step 3 — Admissions assessments: Upon successful submission of the application, documents, and fee, the Admissions Office confirms an assessment schedule. Admissions assessments evaluate English language proficiency, academic readiness, and social–emotional competencies, using a multi-dimensional format appropriate to the applicant's grade level. The assessment format varies by grade, and for Kindergarten–Grade 1 there are play-based observations and mock class participation; Grades 2–5 include English proficiency testing and mock class participation; Grades 6–12 include reading/writing assessments and mock class participation. Overseas applicants may take the online assessment, but the process remains aligned with internal standards; DIS does not use the NWEA MAP test.

Step 4 — Final decision: After a comprehensive review of documents and assessment results, the final admission decision is communicated to the family by email. The Admissions Office does not disclose individual evaluation details. If accepted, families receive an official letter of acceptance and a tuition/fee invoice; all tuition and related fees must be paid within the enrollment contract period, or the admission offer may be forfeited.

There is no published DIS scholarship or financial aid program listed in the official admissions or tuition information. The 2025-2026 Tuition & Fees page presents only tuition amounts and mandatory/optional fees (application, entrance, lunch, senior fee, bus, and residence) and does not indicate any need-based, merit-based, or other scholarship offerings. Families should plan for the published fees as the baseline cost and contact the admissions office for any potential financial assistance options that may exist outside the posted program.

DIS operates a waitlist due to limited enrollment capacity. Not all qualified applicants are admitted immediately. For Korean nationals, enrollment is further restricted by quotas set by the Daegu Department of Education. Based on the admissions assessment results, approximately the top 15% of non-admitted applicants across all grade levels (subject to change) are placed on the waitlist as candidates for admission; if a vacancy arises during the school year, the Admissions Office will contact eligible waitlisted applicants. If an applicant does not receive an offer, DIS notes that offers may not be issued due to capacity or because other factors (academic performance, behavior, or English proficiency) do not meet grade-level requirements.