"Busan-Originated Education Revolution"... Busan Metropolitan Office of Education and Busan City Participate in Education Development Special Zone Contest

Application Reflecting 'Gonggyoyuk Change' Submitted to Ministry of Education

Plan to Ensure Responsible Education for Children Born in Busan Established

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Ha Yun-su), together with Busan City, has applied to the Ministry of Education for the designation of a "Pilot Area for Education Development Special Zone."

An Education Development Special Zone is a project that provides education desired by residents through educational reforms led by local entities such as local governments, education offices, and universities, covering everything from early childhood care to elementary, secondary, and higher education.

The Busan Office of Education and Busan City participated in the three-year pilot operation of the Education Development Special Zone under "Type 2." They have closely collaborated across departments to prepare detailed operational plans for each task to enable immediate project implementation upon selection.

Type 2 refers to a project jointly applied for by the Mayor of Busan and the Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, targeting the entire Busan area.

The Busan Education Development Special Zone application was carried out in cooperation with the Busan Office of Education, Busan City, 16 local governments, and 22 universities with the aim of creating "Busan, a city good for raising children and education," so that children born in Busan can study as Busan students and settle as Busan citizens.

The Busan Office of Education included in the application a plan to lead education through a Busan-origin public education change by finding solutions to pressing issues such as low birthrate, aging population, declining school-age population, depopulation of old downtown areas, and overcrowding in new towns through the pilot operation of the Education Development Special Zone.

First, the Busan Office of Education will expand the operation of the "Busan-style Neulbom School," which accepts all elementary school students from grades 1 to 3 who wish to participate and provides care and education until 8 p.m.

The Neulbom program, composed of care and learning components, will be offered to students who wish to participate, reducing parents' childcare and private education expenses. The Neulbom care facilities within schools will be expanded, and facilities will continue to grow through pilot operation of dedicated Neulbom schools.

Additionally, the operation of the "24-hour Care Neulbom Center," which offers free access at any time to children aged 3 to grade 3 in urgent need of care, will be significantly expanded.

A "Learning Change Project" tailored to growth stages from kindergarten to high school will also be promoted. This project is the core of Busan-origin public education competitiveness, supporting learning by school level and by time periods such as after school, night, weekends, and vacations.

From kindergarten to grade 2, the project supports "Busan Learning-type Neulbom," which focuses on English through AI English centered on play, sports, music, and art, allowing children to learn English naturally for two hours a day.

For elementary school grades 3 to 6, the "Busan-style Academic Achievement Autonomous Evaluation" will be implemented, and for grade 3, the "Responsible Education Grade," a "Learning Helper" will be intensively supported to manage academic achievement in subjects such as Korean, English, and Mathematics.

Middle schools will introduce a "Learning Support Seasonal Semester" to provide seamless support during vacation learning gaps.

Residential-type math and science camps, commuting-type WeCanDo seasonal schools, and Busan-style online lectures will focus on supporting the first grade, the responsible education grade, with "Learning Intensive Seasonal Semesters." During winter vacation, an on- and offline "Learning Deepening Seasonal Semester" centered on Korean, English, and Mathematics will also be operated.

High schools will focus on supporting subject deepening learning and strengthening self-directed learning. The "WeCanDo Weekend School," which combines on- and offline classes centered on hub schools, learning libraries, and schools, will be expanded. Support for self-directed learning will be broadened through funding for motivation enhancement and dinner operation at general high schools, providing customized learning support for students.

Centered on the High School Credit System Support Center, courses linked between high schools, universities, and the local community will be opened, and various distinctive subjects utilizing excellent personnel and facilities from universities will be newly established to support autonomous curriculum operation at schools.

Various projects to improve the learning environment for academic achievement will also be carried out, including the establishment of Autonomous Public High School 2.0, dormitory-type middle schools, and construction of learning rooms for academic improvement.

The specialized high school system, which still remains in the industrial environment of the 1970s and 1980s, will be completely reorganized into Busan’s strategic and new industry sectors, transforming vocational education.

The Busan Office of Education will reorganize specialized high schools based on the three-year new student enrollment rate, employment rate, and appropriateness of manpower training relative to industrial demand, aligning with the core strategic industrial demands of the Busan region.

Vocational and commercial high schools with an oversupply of manpower relative to industrial demand will be converted into specialized schools such as Port Logistics High School and Nuclear Power High School, and also reorganized into "Smart Farm High School" in the life care sector, a Busan-specialized industry.

In particular, the newly implemented "Contract-type High School" will operate an autonomous curriculum through agreements with local companies and industries. The application to the Ministry of Education is planned for March, and if selected, new students will be recruited starting in 2025.

A plan to secure specialized teachers for system reorganization will also be prepared, and the special zone application proposes a special case for establishing laws for the rotation of public and private school teachers.

To operate vocational high school-university linked curricula, cooperation with local universities will be pursued. Major deepening courses will be supported through university-linked credit systems and shared practice facilities, and a 2+2 (3+1) curriculum combining specialized high schools and junior colleges will also be operated.

In addition to the "Morning Change" program, which attracted nationwide attention last year including in Busan, the "Reading Change" will be promoted together to strengthen character education.

Morning Change will become mandatory for all schools by 2025, and this year, the "Reading Change," which involves focused reading for more than 20 minutes a day, will also be operated.

Reading Change helps students systematically read books through the "Book Immersion (20 minutes of deep reading)" activity. It encourages reading marathons recommending 80 books for elementary students, 40 for middle school students, and 20 for high school students annually. From grade 4, electronic book reading using one tablet per student will be activated to foster proper character development.

Equal educational opportunities will also be ensured for students with special needs, multicultural students, and out-of-school youth.

Considering the number of special needs students by district, seven special schools including three branch schools will be newly established or relocated by 2030, and 796 special classrooms will be secured by adding 123 rooms. Improvements to aging special school environments and expansion of vocational education majors will also be promoted to enhance special education conditions.

To continuously manage multicultural students and realize responsible education, "Multicultural Schools" will be established and "Korean Language Classes" reorganized to support four stages from entry to Korean proficiency: multicultural school admission, Korean language class admission, general class admission with bi-monthly monitoring, and general school admission. A Korean adaptation program will also be operated weekly.

To support learning and academic achievement for out-of-school youth, "Public Alternative Middle Schools" and "School Return Support Centers" will be established, providing textbooks, learning materials, and meal expenses comparable to general students, and a "Learning Experience System" will be built to broaden access to academic achievement.

For teacher-led "Digital-based Class Innovation," 200 teams of digital-based class education research groups by subject and school level will be operated.

To cultivate "Digital Class Masters," various research competitions and opportunities to visit excellent institutions will be provided, and all teachers will be required to complete 15 hours of training on using AI digital textbooks.

To improve the online learning system, "Digital Education and SW·AI Learning Infrastructure" will also be established.

The SW·AI Hub Education Center will create Edu-Live class spaces and learning reading rooms in local learning libraries. This is to strengthen students' real-time interactive learning and self-directed learning by integrating "class, learning, and meals" to create an environment for independent study. This space will also be used for on- and offline classes such as the "WeCanDo Weekend School."

The "Busan Speaking English 1.1.1." program will be operated to utilize spare time, self-study time, and break time, as well as five minutes before and after English classes, to enhance students' English communication skills.

An "English Education General Center" will be established to create conditions for English education and serve as a hub for Busan's English education. This center will also manage five regional "English Education Hub Centers" that operate various programs such as English conversation courses and English student reporter activities.

At the high school level, which offers various educational opportunities such as K-POP and vocational education, efforts will be made to attract global foreign students.

"Busan International K-POP High School" will operate customized curricula for foreign students from countries interested in K-POP and provide opportunities for K-culture experiences and performances.

Specialized high schools will attract students from ASEAN developing countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines for technical training and vocational education, and general high schools will operate pilot schools in 2026 to attract foreign students.

The Busan Office of Education proposed a special case allowing the collection of admission fees and tuition from foreign students to activate foreign student attraction in this special zone application.

Superintendent Ha Yun-su of Busan Office of Education said, "Designation as an Education Development Special Zone is essential to ensure that students do not leave Busan for education and to make Busan a place where students from other regions want to study. We will definitely secure the designation and create an environment where children born in Busan are responsibly raised in Busan."

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