Gwangju Teachers Draw Attention with Development of 'Historical Mystery Game' Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Liberation Day

‘Paliloh.com’... Indirect Experience of Independence Activists' Lives and Expectation of Active Learning

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Frontline teachers in Gwangju have attracted attention by independently developing a ‘historical detective game’ to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Liberation Day.

On the 30th, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, the Practical Education Teachers’ Association developed a historical detective experience program called ‘palil-o.com,’ a ‘escape room’ style game that allows students to find and feel the lives of independence activists and the meaning of the independence movement.

Until now, it has been difficult to conduct occasion-based education for students on Liberation Day due to its coincidence with the vacation period.

Also, students have only encountered the related figures through limited and passive learning methods such as reading about them as historical facts, parts of national history, movies, or visiting historical sites, which has made it difficult for them to truly reflect on the meaning of August 15 Liberation Day.

In response, the Practical Education Teachers’ Association developed this game program combining a detective-type game and experiential learning, allowing students to indirectly experience the lives and significance of independence activists and engage in active learning by solving step-by-step problems through materials presented online and clues left at historical sites.

The program was designed to reduce face-to-face contact due to COVID-19.

Although basically created for class units, it is also structured to be suitable for small groups (family units or teacher-student companion programs) due to the COVID-19 situation.

‘palil-o.com’ was passionately developed by teachers from planning, story, characters and design, coding for problem-solving, KakaoTalk chatbot, to original lyrics, composition, music, and videos.

Anyone?students, teachers, or the general public?can easily use smart devices to access it online and offline via the web (palil-o.com or https://sites.google.com/view/815escape).

‘palil-o.com’ starts with a story experiencing a new game from the Gwangbok Culture Research Institute and is composed of three themes.

Participants who complete all three themes and write a review will receive a small souvenir.

A warm-up problem to help adapt to the game format is presented as a gateway, and when help is needed during problem-solving, hints, additional information, and stories can be obtained using the help page and chatbot at the bottom of the window.

Theme 1 is set in Shanghai Clock Shop, Theme 2 in Chai Ja Geou Train Station, and Theme 3 in Seoul Bin Moe.

Each theme deals with different characters, stories, and information, helping to understand the next theme. Depending on difficulty and personal circumstances, participants can finish by theme or write a review.

In particular, the Seoul Bin Moe theme is set against the backdrop of Hyochang Park, where participants can find clues scattered throughout the park to solve problems. For students from other regions who find it difficult to visit Hyochang Park directly, a method to solve the problems using only smart devices is also provided.

Two themes are solved at specific locations, and the last theme involves visiting the site to solve problems given on smart devices, with two experiential methods: solving problems while receiving videos and materials on smartphones.

Until the 75th Liberation Day anniversary, applications are being accepted on ‘palil-o.com,’ and offline events will be held in each region where participants can solve problems together (Seoul area on August 5 and August 15 near Hyochang Park, Gwangju area on August 7 near Gwangju Baekbeom Memorial Hall, Busan area on August 8 near Busan Liberation Memorial Hall, Daegu area on August 13 near National Debt Repayment Movement Memorial Park).

This experiential program can be created without special program production skills, and similar types of experiential programs can also be produced or modified.

The platform was created using various free web services and programs to reduce costs and allow flexible application of learning content, and any teacher who wants to create a more meaningful experiential program for students can easily modify and utilize it.

A representative of the Practical Education Teachers’ Association said, “We will not limit education to textbook knowledge of historical facts and the horrors and difficulties of past history,” adding, “We hope this experiential program, which draws students’ interest and engagement and allows them to actively create personal meaning, will help them not forget the past and re-evaluate the efforts of our ancestors.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.