International School of Koje Changes Name to
Atherton International School (AIS)
Atherton International School (AIS)
After gaining final approval from the MOE, as of 1st June the International School of Koje (ISK) has changed ownership from DSME to the Deokbu Foundation. To herald this new beginning for the school, the name has been changed to Atherton International School (AIS) Geoje.
With our new board of Directors we will be moving forwards to market the school globally, with plans to open a world-class boarding facility, whilst retaining the core values and ethos of the passionate learning community that made ISK such a unique and successful school over the previous nine years.
Atherton is a town in California, Unites States and is considered to be part of the San Francisco metropolitan area.
During the 19th century the town was known as Fair Oaks (oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance) and then was renamed in honour of a successful businessman, Faxon Dean Atherton, a former landowner.
The town is famous not only for having the highest per capita income among US towns with a population between 2500 and 9999, but is close to the prestigious Stanford University, and Palo Alto where the headquarters of high-tech companies are located.
By bringing in the new name we are expecting to improve the recognition of our school internationally, thus stepping closer to more potential students with a better educational environment.
For decades ISK has been providing quality education, mainly to the children of expatriate families from shipyards and we have been appreciated as a valuable part of the Geoje community. With the new name, AIS, we would now like to expand our educational reach more to the international community to better achieve our mission as a 'Passionate Learning Community'.
We are looking forward to exciting times ahead!
With our new board of Directors we will be moving forwards to market the school globally, with plans to open a world-class boarding facility, whilst retaining the core values and ethos of the passionate learning community that made ISK such a unique and successful school over the previous nine years.
Atherton is a town in California, Unites States and is considered to be part of the San Francisco metropolitan area.
During the 19th century the town was known as Fair Oaks (oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance) and then was renamed in honour of a successful businessman, Faxon Dean Atherton, a former landowner.
The town is famous not only for having the highest per capita income among US towns with a population between 2500 and 9999, but is close to the prestigious Stanford University, and Palo Alto where the headquarters of high-tech companies are located.
By bringing in the new name we are expecting to improve the recognition of our school internationally, thus stepping closer to more potential students with a better educational environment.
For decades ISK has been providing quality education, mainly to the children of expatriate families from shipyards and we have been appreciated as a valuable part of the Geoje community. With the new name, AIS, we would now like to expand our educational reach more to the international community to better achieve our mission as a 'Passionate Learning Community'.
We are looking forward to exciting times ahead!
Accreditation News

AIS has achieved membership of the Council of International Schools
Following a virtual Accreditation visit in May 2021 we are delighted to announce that AIS has secured membership of the CIS community. The report contains many positive comments whilst recognising that the school is exceeding in many categories.
Some of the strengths identified include:
To read the full report, commendations and recommendations please refer to curriculum documents on the website.
We look forward to continuing our journey to full accreditation with CIS over the course of the 2022/23 academic year.
Following a virtual Accreditation visit in May 2021 we are delighted to announce that AIS has secured membership of the CIS community. The report contains many positive comments whilst recognising that the school is exceeding in many categories.
Some of the strengths identified include:
- Widely-shared guiding statements which are embedded in daily operations and long range planning
- Curriculum that is aligned with the schools purpose and direction, which is in turn integrated into instructional planning and delivery: and
- A positive, inclusive, friendly, trusting and mutually supportive atmosphere for students, staff and parents.
To read the full report, commendations and recommendations please refer to curriculum documents on the website.
We look forward to continuing our journey to full accreditation with CIS over the course of the 2022/23 academic year.