Our top story this morning...
The 52 schools in South Korea's Gangwon-do Province, which were closed due to last week's massive forest fire in the region,... have restarted their regular classes today.
Authorities say they will speed up repairs and facility inspections of the schools affected by the blaze.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
This is a middle school in Gangneung,... that was severely damaged by the recent forest fire that affected tens of thousands of people in the area.
Melted roofs, burnt out air-conditioners, and blackened windows... it's clear it will take a while before everything is back to normal.
Throughout Gangwon-do Province,... four schools and one education center suffered over one million U.S. dollars in damages alone.
More than 90 students and faculty members were injured,.. and some have been left homeless.
With authorities doing the best they can to get things back to normal, 52 schools in the Sokcho, Gangneung and Donghae regions will be restarting classes on Monday.
This includes kindergartens and elementary schools.
However, students directly affected by the fire will be permitted to be absent for the time being.
Since everything is under control now, students shouldn't have any problems on Monday. Care services will also be operated as they were before.
The Ministry of Education says it will spare no effort restoring and inspecting all school facilities in the affected areas.
In addition, it plans to prepare measures for students who lost their homes in the blaze.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.