Mr.Edward Kwon at the KIS soccer field. Photo taken May 7 2026.

KIS security guards work 12 hour shifts. Edward Kwon, KIS’ head of security, has been working these shifts for nine years. You’ve probably seen Mr. Kwon around the school – he’s arguably the most well-known security guard at KIS. He’s most commonly seen managing the entry and exit of cars and buses near B3 in the morning. He’s also been seen patrolling the school during educational hours for anything out of the ordinary that might have to be reported to other staff for further inquiry. Wherever Mr. Kwon may be and whatever he may be doing, he always has a smile on his face. Yet behind that smile lies countless unseen duties and dedicated hours spent keeping KIS safe – effort that sadly, often goes unnoticed.

Security guard Edward Kwon arrives at school at 6:00 AM. His first order of business is to manage the flow of traffic in and out of school starting at 7:30, when the first bus arrives at KIS. He oversees the safe entry of all 26 school buses, along with the drop-off of students by their parents. He ensures that children who are dropped off exit their vehicles and enter the school without issue. Another one of his morning duties is to guide cars from students who attend the neighboring educational institution, Seongnam Foreign Language High School (SNFL). These obligations typically conclude at 8:00 AM, when classes commence. He is not the only security guard who has these responsibilities, of course. The KIS security team consists of around 5 dedicated officers who share similar commitments as Mr. Kwon. The overall goal of security at KIS is to ensure the safety of students. All the daily missions of security are to fulfill this aim in completion.

During the school day, security guards are responsible for controlling visitor access, which encompasses manning the booth between the car entryway and the bus gates, along with the main B3 entrance area past the parking lot and pick-up/drop-off zones. Guards make sure all visitors are authorized to enter and have guest lanyards, and that all entering children are actual KIS students.
Officers are also obligated to patrol the school for unusual activity like fires, theft, broken glass, student violence, or water leaks. The patrols are aimed at finding and eliminating possible threats to student safety. If any such issue is found, guards report it to the janitors, maintenance crew, and other Korean staff to rectify. These patrols conclude at 10:00 AM, and from 10:30 the guards take cycled break times for lunch. At 12:30 PM, this leisure time concludes and afternoon patrols initiate. All guards are relieved from this task around 3:00 PM to supervise the conclusion of the school day. Officers ensure kids enter their cars safely and that vehicles exit B3 efficiently before buses leave at 3:10. The guards stay to oversee the departure of after school activity and faculty buses depart at 5:10 and 5:20, and are relinquished from their duties at 6:00. 

On particular days with events like concerts, receptions, and sports events, guards are obliged to come to school. These events may extend beyond their usual six to six duty hours, with concerts and parties frequently extending past seven or eight. Weekend activities like jamborees and sports games require guards to show up and oversee bus departures and event-related traffic. All these undertakings mean that guards often work over 60 hours a week. Mr. Kwon has been fulfilling these responsibilities for nine years now. He started working at KIS on March 13, 2017. In less than a year, Mr. Kwon will celebrate a decade of working at this school.

Mr. Edward Kwon joined KIS after retiring from his job as a banker. He worked as a branch manager at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), which once was the largest bank in the world. He worked there for 30 years, specializing in finance, capital, and retail banking. He’s a verified Security Instructor, which authorizes him to control and advise security operations. Mr. Kwon decided to join KIS because he loves the school and wants to ensure the safety of the students, parents, faculty, and Korean staff who all contribute to the school community. His perpetual joy and contagious enthusiasm come as a result of his fondness for KIS. 

Mr. Edward Kwon and the security team are just a handful of the people who work largely unnoticed but are absolutely essential to everyday life at KIS. The janitors, business office employees, cafeteria workers, and maintenance crew have similarly demanding responsibilities but often go unnoticed by students. Behind every cordial smile are countless hours of dedication and innumerable unseen duties. It’s vital to recognize those who work in the shadows to ensure the seamless comfort we have in our daily lives at KIS.