Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education Introduces Korea's First IB Program...Online Admission Briefing Session Draws Huge Interest

Kyungdae Sadae Bugo, Daegu Oego, and Posan High School 2021 Entrants
YouTube Admission Briefing on 29th... Views Near 3,000 by Morning of 31st

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a high school curriculum recognized by entrance exam scores at over 3,300 universities in 90 countries worldwide, will be introduced to three high schools in the Daegu area starting in 2022.

In this regard, the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education held a joint admissions briefing session online on the 29th for the recruitment of new students for the 2021 academic year at the designated schools scheduled to operate the program, with about 400 participants connecting in real time. Originally, the briefing session was planned to be held at large facilities such as the Student Culture Center, but due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it was changed to an online non-face-to-face format.

The first domestic schools scheduled to operate the IB DLDP (Dual Language Diploma Program) are Gyeongbuk National University Education College Affiliated High School (Gyeongdae Sadae Bugyo), Daegu Foreign Language High School, and Posan High School.

In July last year, the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education signed an agreement with the IB headquarters to Koreanize the DP program, making it the third in the world after Germany and Japan to operate the IB Dual Language Diploma Program. The IB Dual Language Diploma Program conducts classes and assessments in two subjects including English in English, while other subjects are taught and evaluated in Korean.

Gyeongdae Sadae Bugyo, Daegu Foreign Language High School, and Posan High School, selected as IB candidate schools, plan to apply for IB World School status this year. The DP program is conducted in the second and third years of high school, so it targets students entering in the 2022 academic year.

The briefing session lasted about three hours, including a 90-minute special lecture by instructor Ha Hwajoo (Vice Principal of Banpo High School, Seoul), who has researched the IB program for several years, and a Q&A session, to help students and parents unfamiliar with the IB program. The related video had over 2,750 views as of 10 a.m. on the 31st, showing a strong response.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is characterized by moving away from education focused on finding fixed answers, emphasizing discussion that brings out thinking, process-oriented classes, and essay-type evaluations. Through this, it is a school education system that pursues learners’ self-directed growth.

A Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education official said, "The online briefing session posted on YouTube will be a good opportunity to see how the IBDP program is operated within the school curriculum," adding that school-specific admissions briefings will be held twice each until October.

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