A college campus opened within a correction facility at Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province for the first time in Korean penitentiary history Tuesday. The Ministry of Justice and Juseong College announced the launch of Juseong's Heungdeok Campus at the hall of Cheongju Correction Facility in Cheongju Tuesday morning. Some three hundred inmates and families, with ministry officials and Juseong College professors participated at the ceremony and congratulated the first day of school for the forty freshmen who are to start their studies at the new campus.

The students were selected taking into consideration their good behavior within the facility. Juseong will offer courses for a computer information system department. The Ministry of Justice received applications from exemplary inmates with high school diplomas throughout the country and transferred them recently to the Cheongju penitentiary.

A lifer serving his 13th year who became class leader for the first college within a correction facility said he was glad he got the precious opportunity to study within the penitentiary, and added he will study hard to thank the people who helped this to become a reality.

The lecturers of Juseong College will visit the facility to give classes and the semester will be made up of 15 weeks of 20 hours a week. Classes began from March 10, prior to Tuesday's entrance ceremony and the school plans to give a college degree to those who complete the 80 credit course. The tuition fee is half of an ordinary college student. An official of Juseong College said they planned to steadily increase more programs for the inmates so that they can give practical help to the men such as equipping them with skills that will enable them to find jobs once they are back in society.

(Youh Tae-jong, tjyouh@chosun.com )