[New Year Interview] Kim Dae-jung, Jeonnam Provincial Superintendent of Education, "Will Establish the Direction of Future Education"

‘Student Education Allowance’ Payment and Response to Regional Extinction Crisis

Preparing for College Entrance Exam: “We Will Create Schools That Focus on Studying”

Former Jeonnam Provincial Superintendent of Education Kim Dae-jung.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] “We will make 2023 the inaugural year for realizing future educational autonomy in Jeonnam and firmly establish the direction of future education in Jeonnam and schools that focus on learning.”

Kim Dae-jung, the 4th elected Superintendent of Education of Jeonnam Province, presented the direction for a major transformation in Jeonnam education in a New Year interview with Asia Economy on the 30th.

Superintendent Kim said, “During the past six months since taking office, I have focused on laying the foundation for a ‘major transformation in Jeonnam education.’ To find the direction for this transformation, I communicated with many education families, including experts, and realized anew that the answer is to ‘return to the basics.’”

He added, “I believe the fundamental mission of the education office is to ‘provide students with a solid foundation for the future.’ The basics of education are to teach students well, properly evaluate their achievements, and expand teachers’ learning opportunities to improve teaching capabilities.”

Key educational policies to be promoted in 2023 include ▲ schools focused on learning ▲ establishing the direction of future education in Jeonnam ▲ realizing an advanced model of Jeonnam-style educational autonomy ▲ and boosting staff morale.

He promised, “To create schools focused on learning, we will guarantee learning rights, resolve overcrowded classes, and maintain an appropriate number of students. We will activate reading education and build the ‘Jeonnam Education Big Data System’ to secure data sovereignty in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.”

He continued, “To respond to the crisis of regional extinction and reduce educational disparities, we will provide the Jeonnam Student Education Allowance and offer regionally specialized education models utilizing local strengths. We will also establish a paperless work environment and system so that teachers can focus solely on teaching, reduce school administrative tasks, and distribute practical educational community life regulations that respect teachers’ rights.”

He expressed high expectations for the ‘Jeonnam Student Education Allowance,’ one of his core pledges.

Superintendent Kim said, “We plan to introduce the student education allowance of 2.4 million KRW per student annually in 16 counties experiencing population decline, starting with elementary students and gradually expanding. We are aware that some regions excluded from the payment have expressed dissatisfaction. However, given the current education office budget, it is difficult to provide it to all cities and counties, so we intend to implement it first within feasible limits.”

He added, “We are consulting with the provincial council and preparing discussions with the government. We will definitely realize the ‘Jeonnam Student Education Allowance’ within my term to prevent regional extinction.”

He also emphasized that future education in Jeonnam must be accompanied by the establishment of curricula and infrastructure to prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution era.

Superintendent Kim stated, “To innovate classroom teaching, we will implement a customized learning system using artificial intelligence tailored to students’ growth stages. We plan to build personalized learning content using AI tutors and the Jeonnam-style online learning J-MOOC, and distribute one smart device per student to maximize self-directed learning ability.”

To secure competitiveness for university admissions in preparation for regular admissions, Superintendent Kim plans to strengthen career and academic counseling by establishing career and academic counseling centers staffed with university admission support specialists in five cities within the province starting next year.

He explained, “Over 91% of students in Jeonnam enter universities through early admissions. The recent trend of expanding regular admissions is disadvantageous to Jeonnam students, but instead of blaming the system, we must develop our own competitiveness for university admissions. The education office provides customized university admission consulting for early and regular admissions based on students’ aptitudes and grades, supporting examinees’ university entrance.”

He added, “Together with EBS, we will train about 300 mock exam question setters through training on the CSAT question setting. By providing practical questions through analysis of EBS-linked textbooks and curriculum, we will enhance university admission competitiveness and instill hope and confidence that ‘Jeonnam’s children can enter any university they desire.’”

In particular, he said, “To promote integrated reading, discussion, and writing, we will operate morning reading classes, support student authors in publishing books, and run writing classes visiting islands, among various reading and humanities education activities. We will also continue policy support such as teacher capacity-building training and development of support materials to strengthen reading-based classes.”

Regarding multicultural support projects, he emphasized, “We will expand and strengthen bilingual education by utilizing multicultural family parents and migrant women. To foster pride among multicultural students, we will support international sensibility development through language, culture, and history learning projects and the ‘Motherland Exploration Program.’”

Finally, Superintendent Kim revealed his New Year’s wish and plan as “changing the future of Jeonnam’s children and the region through education.”

He added, “I want Jeonnam’s children to grow upright and become future talents. I will do my best to open a happy future for our children, who are Jeonnam’s future and hope.”

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