[Interview] Park Gyeomsu, Gangbuk District Mayor: "The 10-Year Fruits of Character and Talent Development in Gangbuk Education Are Visible"

‘Kkumnamu Kiwoom Scholarship Foundation’ 10 Years of Talent Dream Trees Growing into Society’s Mainstream... ‘Youth Hope Expedition’ Hiking with Captain Eom Hong-gil Sends ‘Challenge and Promise’ Message to Adolescents... District Mayor Park Gyeom-su States “Character More Important than Academics. Will Do Best to Establish Future Education City Gangbuk-gu Foundation in Remaining Term”

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “The most important aspect of education is for children to develop proper character and discover their aptitudes and talents. Rather than forcing academic achievement, we should support the dreams that children hope for.”

In an interview with this publication, Park Gyeom-su, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, emphasized Gangbuk-gu’s educational philosophy that prioritizes character and talent development.

Mayor Park stated, “Especially in the arts and physical education fields, recognizing one’s talent from an early age and honing it increases the chances of success. The earlier, the better.” He added, “There are cases where children give up their dreams due to financial reasons despite having talent, which is a great loss for the nation. That child could become the next Kim Yuna or Park Ji-sung.” This inspired the conception of the ‘Dream Tree Nurturing Scholarship Foundation’ project.

The Gangbuk-gu Dream Tree Nurturing Scholarship Foundation is unique in that it continuously supports children with outstanding talents in the arts and physical education fields every year until they bear fruit, ensuring they do not give up their dreams due to economic circumstances. This clearly distinguishes it from other scholarship foundations that mainly provide one-time support based on academic performance. Established in 2012, it has supported children with exceptional talents in six fields: music, fine arts, dance, sports, theater, and academics.

The selection process for scholarship recipients is very thorough. First, a primary document screening narrows down candidates who meet the criteria. Applicants must reside in Gangbuk-gu or attend kindergartens, elementary, middle, or high schools located in Gangbuk-gu, and come from households whose combined health insurance premium payments are at or below 70% of the median income. Students applying for the scholarship must submit an application form, a talent development plan, and a recommendation letter from their school principal. The district then conducts a second on-site evaluation for preliminary candidates who passed the first screening. Expert judges in each field rigorously assess the talents of both new and existing scholarship students.

Final scholarship recipients receive up to 3 million KRW annually from the Dream Tree Scholarship Foundation to cover costs necessary for talent development, such as academy tuition and related supplies. To continue receiving support, scholarship students must annually demonstrate their talent and potential for growth.

This year, 19 new applicants applied, and 5 were selected. Among the 27 existing scholarship students, 25 were reselected, making a total of 30 10th-term scholarship recipients who received certificates. Since the foundation’s establishment in April 2012, a total of 179 talented dream trees have benefited from scholarships amounting to 427 million KRW.

Mayor Park said, “The scholarships given to the dream trees are not from the district office but from the residents of Gangbuk-gu.” The funds collected from residents bit by bit have accumulated to assets of about 6 billion KRW for the foundation. In 2011, a preparatory committee was formed, and within five months of soliciting donations from residents, over 570 million KRW necessary for establishing the foundation was donated.

Alongside this, the ‘Youth Hope Expedition’ with Captain Eom Hong-gil delivers a message of ‘challenge and promise’ to adolescents.

The Youth Hope Expedition is an experiential program where world-renowned mountaineer Captain Eom Hong-gil and Gangbuk-gu youth climb mountains together to cultivate dreams, hope, and a spirit of challenge. Mayor Park said, “It is one of Gangbuk-gu’s representative talent development programs that contributes to character education by helping youth overcome academic stress and internet addiction through hiking, fostering resilience and friendship.”

From 2012 to last year, a total of 577 participants took part in nearby mountain hikes, summer and winter camps, and a Nepal expedition. Although the program was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, it resumed last year in response to the demand for experiential education programs from parents, schools, and students amid the spread of non-face-to-face online education.

This year, the 10th Youth Hope Expedition will launch with a ‘Pilgrimage Trail Trekking with Captain Eom Hong-gil’ aligned with the April 19 Revolution National Cultural Festival. The district will recruit about 60 second-year middle school students from 13 local middle schools. Mayor Park said, “One year as a Youth Hope Expedition member will instill in students a spirit of challenge toward their dreams, courage, and confidence to not fear failure.”

In addition, Gangbuk-gu runs policies supporting children to grow into well-rounded talents with proper character, including the Dreamdong-i Preparatory School to help multicultural family students adapt to school, a Youth Counseling Welfare Center offering academic, career, and mental health counseling, a butterfly life cycle ecological experience learning program, a Career and Job Experience Support Center linked with the Seoul-style Free Semester System providing on-site job experiences, and a reading culture promotion project to encourage reading habits among daycare parents. These are mainly educational projects that Mayor Park Gyeom-su has been implementing since the beginning of his term with a vision for Gangbuk-gu’s future over the past decade.

Mayor Park Gyeom-su of Gangbuk-gu said, “I believe character is more important than academics for children. I will do my best during the remainder of my term to create a future educational city, Gangbuk, where children can grow properly by thinking from their perspective and considering what they need.”

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