Gwangju Seo-gu Recruiting Students for 'Sekundae Second Half Regular Courses'

Applications Open Until September 3
21 Programs Across 3 Departments

Seo-gu District in Gwangju (District Mayor Kim Ikang) announced on August 25 that it will be recruiting students for the second half regular courses of ‘Sekundae (The World’s Largest University in Seo-gu)’ until September 3.

Gwangju Seo-gu Sekundae Second Half Regular Course Poster. Provided by Gwangju Seo-gu

‘Sekundae’ is a lifelong learning brand created in 2023 as a novel initiative by Seo-gu, which, among the five autonomous districts, is the only one without a university in its jurisdiction.

The entire Seo-gu region is operated as a single lifelong learning university, supporting residents to enjoy learning in their daily lives without burden and spreading learning communities to create new momentum for the local community.

In particular, Seo-gu has enhanced the quality of its educational programs and awards honorary citizen degrees to those who complete a certain number of hours in major and general education courses. As a result, just one year after its launch, 20 people received honorary citizen bachelor’s degrees on November 20, 2024.

Over the past two years, Sekundae has operated 217 courses across 11 departments, with 1,929 participants. Of these, 1,393 completed their courses and 259 obtained certificates. The satisfaction rate for the courses was 87%, indicating that more than 8 out of 10 participants were satisfied, demonstrating that the program effectively meets the learning needs of residents.

The second half regular courses will be held from September 8 to November 21 at the Sekundae Seo-gu Lifelong Learning Center and the Seo-gu District Office IT Education Center. A total of 21 programs will be offered across three departments: Humanities and Social Sciences, Culture and Arts, and Civic Participation.

Details on the courses and schedules for each program can be found in the announcements section of the Sekundae website. Applications can be submitted through the Sekundae website or the ‘Sekundae Seo-gu in My Hand’ app. Tuition fees range from free to 20,000 won per course, with material costs charged separately.

Seo-gu District Mayor Kim Ikang stated, “As the Sekundae courses have been designed to reflect the diverse learning needs of our residents, I hope they will provide opportunities for capacity building and sustainable learning. We will continue to foster a unique lifelong education environment in Seo-gu, a good city where people grow through learning, spread knowledge through sharing, and build a collaborative learning community.”

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