Seoul City's Online Learning Site 'Seoul Learn' 4 Months... Alleviating Economic Burden

8,809 Participants Joined, Achieving 88% of Target... Overall Satisfaction Score 85
Seoul Run Essay Contest, 10 Works Selected Including 5 Grand Prize Winners

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City launched the online learning site ‘Seoul Learn’ on August 27, targeting low-income elementary, middle, and high school students who have difficulty accessing learning resources, as well as out-of-school youth and multicultural family youth. The number of registered users reached 8,809, achieving 88% of the target. The overall satisfaction score for the service was 85 points, and one in four users cited relief from economic burden as a reason for their satisfaction.

On the 26th, Seoul City conducted an online survey of 1,025 ‘Seoul Learn’ users, revealing an overall satisfaction score of 85 points. The intention to continue using the service scored 88 points. The most common reason for satisfaction, cited by 27% of respondents, was that the service is provided free of charge, easing economic burdens. The average progress rate of ‘Seoul Learn’ users was 43.1%, with each user taking an average of 5.1 courses.

Looking at satisfaction by specific areas, scores were in the low to mid-80s: ▲‘Seoul Learn’ site (82 points) ▲learning site (85 points) ▲mentoring (82 points) ▲events (85 points) ▲learning support center (81 points). Notably, 26% of respondents who were satisfied with the learning site cited the variety and quality of lectures as the main reason.

Seoul City also held the ‘2021 Seoul Learn Essay Contest’ to share learning cases and user reviews. A total of 181 entries were submitted, showing strong interest. Among them, 10 essays were selected as winners, including 5 grand prizes and 5 excellence awards. Among ‘Seoul Learn’ users, some students succeeded in university admissions this year. Kim Eun-jin (pseudonym, 18), who was admitted to the nursing departments of Catholic University and Wonkwang University through early admission, achieved a remarkable improvement from 139th to 1st place in calculus. Additionally, Kim Hee-jung (pseudonym, 20), who had a strong desire to study, met a great opportunity through ‘Seoul Learn’ and was admitted early to Kyung Hee University and Ewha Womans University. Currently, ‘Seoul Learn’ is providing one-on-one regular admission consulting for members who took the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test.

Meanwhile, ‘Seoul Learn’ has offered a variety of free lectures considering user demand, including not only regular school curriculum lectures for elementary, middle, and high school but also GED and certification courses. In particular, it provided online lectures from eight highly preferred educational companies, broadening students’ options.

Furthermore, to fill gaps that online learning alone cannot cover and to foster self-directed learning skills, a one-on-one customized mentoring service is also supported. This comprehensive learning service offers academic guidance, progress management, and counseling on career and personal concerns, providing emotional support as well as academic assistance to help youth plan their futures. Educational content based on edutech, such as metaverse-based special lectures on history and college entrance exams (three sessions) and AI coding blocks, were also provided, giving ‘Seoul Learn’ users opportunities to engage with future technologies.

Seoul City aims to further develop ‘Seoul Learn’ into a lifelong learning platform for all Seoul citizens, offering diverse learning content that helps youth design their careers and young adults strengthen their employment capabilities, thereby coming closer to citizens.

Lee Dae-hyun, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Lifelong Education, said, “We will collect various opinions from satisfaction surveys and essays, address any shortcomings, and strive to make this a good example of educational innovation.”

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