Seoul City to Expand 'Seoul Learn' Educational Site from Next Month 1st... Accelerating 'Walking Together with the Vulnerable'

From Next Month 1st, Number of Curriculum and Extracurricular Learning Sites Expanded from 11 to 14... Learning Site Selection Increased from Up to 2 to 3

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced on the 15th that ‘Seoul Run,’ an educational platform aimed at restoring the educational ladder and one of the four major policies for the vulnerable pledged as ‘Walking Together with the Weak,’ will significantly expand its services starting next month on the 1st.

According to Seoul City, the main contents of the expanded and enhanced ‘Seoul Run’ services include ▲expansion of learning sites (educational companies) from 11 to 14 ▲opening of the metaverse ‘Seoul Run Learning Playground’ ▲1:1 career planning and college entrance strategy consulting ▲job culture experience programs, among others.

First, starting from next month on the 1st, when changes to the learning sites for the second half of the year begin, the number of learning sites (educational companies) that Seoul Run members can choose from will increase from 11 to 14. The three newly added sites are Etoos (curriculum), Hackers (language and certification), and Willa (reading), expected to meet diverse learning demands.

Etoos (curriculum) participated in Seoul Run last year but did not participate this year due to internal circumstances. Instead, it has been providing existing members with comprehensive course access until the end of June. With the decision to rejoin Seoul Run this time, members who were studying with Etoos can continue their learning without interruption. Hackers and Willa are newly participating in Seoul Run as non-curricular providers. Eduwill, an existing participant, will additionally provide language content.

The diverse content in language (Hackers, Eduwill) and employment (Hackers) fields is expected to be a great help to Seoul Run members preparing for employment. Willa, a provider offering various classes such as audiobooks and self-development, is expected to reduce social and cultural gaps in humanities and liberal arts for vulnerable groups and relieve stress for members tired from studying. Willa will first provide services on mobile starting next month on the 1st and will begin PC services from August 1.

With the expansion of educational companies participating in Seoul Run, from next month on the 1st, the number of learning sites members can select will also increase from a maximum of 2 to 3. Members can choose one from 11 curriculum providers, one from 2 certification and language providers, and the reading site (Willa) can be selected additionally. Besides content from private learning sites, content directly planned and produced by Seoul City will also be expanded. A ‘Seoul Run Learning Playground’ will be created in a metaverse space where members can enjoy learning through various events, special lectures, OX quizzes, learning games, counseling, and personal commemorative spaces.

A program to systematically support career and academic planning for Seoul Run members will also be prepared. 250 students from 1st year middle school to 2nd year high school and 300 students in their 3rd year of high school or repeaters taking college entrance exams will be selected to receive 1:1 consulting. Applications for 1:1 career planning and college entrance strategy consulting can be made on the Seoul Run website starting next month on the 1st, and selected members will receive 4 to 5 counseling sessions online and offline until December.

For Seoul Run members who choose employment instead of further education, an experience program will be offered from August to help discover personal interests and aptitudes and experience relevant job cultures. Applications will be accepted from July 25 on the Seoul Run website, and 250 members will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. The job culture experience program provides opportunities to participate in small problem-solving projects after career exploration education, visit interested companies through current employee mentors, and gain job experience as interns.

Meanwhile, Seoul City is conducting various events to boost the learning motivation of Seoul Run members ahead of final exams and summer vacation. As of June, the ‘Seoul Run Holic’ event is ongoing until the 30th, rewarding 600 members who have posted reviews with prizes based on their progress rates.

Lee Dae-hyun, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Lifelong Education, said, “The first step to realizing a special city walking together with the vulnerable is to restore the educational ladder by providing fair educational opportunities.” He added, “Next year, we will upgrade ‘Seoul Run’ into an edutech-based lifelong education platform and develop it into a learning playground for Seoul citizens that provides customized education services tailored to each life cycle.”

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