Pocheon City Evolving into an Education and Culture Hub... 'A New Path for Pocheon'

Pocheon’s Humanities City Initiative: How Far Has It Come?
From Administrative Hub to Center of Culture and Education
Pocheon Secures National Recognition as a Certified Brand by the Ministry of Education
First Citizen-Initiated Ordinance: Policies Led by the People
“Humanities City” Pocheon, Evolving Toward a Sustainable Future

Three years after the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, the core municipal vision put forth by Mayor Baek Younghyeon of Pocheon City-“Beyond an administrative city, toward becoming a center of culture and education”-is now yielding tangible results. Pocheon is increasingly recognized not just as an administrative hub, but as a cultural and educational center that enhances the quality of life for its citizens.

Completion Ceremony of Silver Academy in Idong-myeon, Pocheon City. Provided by Pocheon City

Mayor Baek Younghyeon has consistently expressed a strong commitment to “developing Pocheon into a center of culture and education so that every citizen can enjoy a valuable and prosperous life.” This vision has moved beyond mere slogans, being realized through a range of policies and initiatives. In particular, the city’s humanities-focused urban policies, which reflect the unique characteristics of the region, are emerging as a leading model nationwide.

In 2023, Pocheon became the first city in northern Gyeonggi Province to be selected for the Ministry of Education’s Humanities City Support Project, receiving national recognition for its distinctive vision. The “First Humanities City in Northern Gyeonggi, Columnar Jointing in Pocheon” program, operated in partnership with Daejin University, drew attention by reinterpreting Hantangang’s columnar joints-a key local asset-from a humanities perspective.

A Ministry of Education official commented, “Pocheon stood out for its originality in uniting nature, history, and civic participation under a single humanities brand,” expressing hope that ongoing achievements will establish Pocheon as the hub of humanities in northern Gyeonggi. This selection by the Ministry is expected to position Pocheon as a key player in the national discourse on humanities cities.

In 2023, Pocheon enacted the first-ever resident-initiated ordinance in the history of local autonomy. The “Ordinance on the Creation of a Humanities City in Pocheon” is highly symbolic, as it was proposed and enacted directly by citizens through signatures, not by the administration. As a result, the humanities city policy has taken root as a legal framework, ensuring its sustainability beyond being a one-off event.

To further expand citizen participation, the city is working to revise the ordinance for the “Humanities City Promotion Committee.” This is regarded as a model case of citizen-led governance.

Pocheon City, Kim Changok Humanities Academy. Provided by Pocheon City

Experts have also praised the resident-initiated ordinance, calling it “a symbolic achievement that demonstrates Pocheon’s humanities city policy is a social consensus created jointly by citizens, the council, and the administration.”

Pocheon City aims to further expand direct citizen participation in policy-making by pursuing the revision of the “Humanities City Promotion Committee” ordinance this year. This is expected to significantly contribute to spreading the recognition that active citizen involvement is crucial for building a livable city.

Pocheon has brought humanities policies into the daily lives of its citizens, rather than leaving them as grand declarations. Village halls and senior centers have become places of learning, while the “Lifelong Learning Village” and “Silver Academy” have strengthened community cohesion. These two initiatives serve as a solid foundation for enhancing the unity and self-reliance of the local community.

The large-scale “Pocheon Humanities Academy,” which invites prominent speakers, has become a flagship program for promoting the city’s brand. From 2023 to August 2025, more than 5,040 citizens participated, and a 2024 in-house survey recorded a high satisfaction rate of 99.7%.

Additionally, the “Visiting Humanities Salon,” which divides the city into four regions, has provided opportunities for diverse groups-including office workers and young people-to participate.

This year, the “Visiting Humanities Salon,” tailored to Pocheon’s local characteristics, is receiving particular attention. By dividing the city into four areas and offering high-quality education close to home, the program has made it easy for office workers and not just specific groups to participate.

In 2025, Pocheon became the first city in the country to establish a dedicated track for lifelong education. This measure was taken to overcome the limitations of rotational assignments among general administrative officials and to secure expertise, thereby strengthening the stability and continuity of humanities and lifelong education policies through institutional innovation.

Delivery of the Petition for the Ordinance on the Creation of a Humanities City by the Residents' Initiative Promotion Committee. Provided by Pocheon City

This move addresses the previous shortcomings of having general administrative officials handle these tasks on a rotating basis, which led to a lack of expertise and continuity. By recruiting and assigning specialized officials dedicated to humanities and lifelong education, Pocheon’s innovative administration is being recognized for embedding humanities city policies within its administrative system. This enables the city to establish a virtuous cycle of “specialized personnel → policy stability → increased citizen engagement” over the long term.

Pocheon aims to establish a “Special Lifelong Learning Planning Zone” to create a comprehensive platform that integrates education, culture, industry, and tourism. By consolidating existing achievements, the city seeks to realize a virtuous cycle of “learning → employment → regional vitality” and is also pursuing plans to repurpose closed schools and idle spaces as learning and cultural hubs.

Since 2022, lifelong education in Pocheon has gone beyond quantitative expansion to achieve qualitative leaps, becoming a core asset for urban competitiveness. The budget increased 2.4 times from 6.3 billion won to 15.4 billion won, while the number of participants rose 3.6 times from 10,000 to 40,000. The number of programs also grew 3.5 times from 17 to 59, making lifelong education not the preserve of a select few, but a basic right accessible to all citizens.

Notably, specific programs saw even more remarkable changes. The “Silver Academy” for seniors saw participation increase by 5.8 times, establishing itself as a leading model for responding to an aging society. The “Lifelong Learning Center Humanities School” grew 6.8 times, transforming various parts of the city into hubs of knowledge and culture. Customized programs for people with disabilities also nearly tripled, enhancing Pocheon’s reputation as an inclusive and equitable educational city.

Lifelong education in Pocheon has now evolved beyond simply being a “learning city.” It is building a virtuous cycle where citizen growth leads directly to urban growth, creating a sustainable knowledge ecosystem for future generations.

'Meeting with Poet Oh Eun.' Provided by Pocheon City

Pocheon is now evolving from event-oriented policies to a sustainable humanities city model equipped with systems, infrastructure, and specialized personnel. Once the lifelong learning center opens and a control tower is established, the accumulated achievements are expected to generate even greater synergy.

A city official stated, “We feel a great sense of fulfillment seeing citizens directly experience and share the value of the humanities,” emphasizing that “such enthusiastic participation from citizens is what motivates public officials and is key to creating a vibrant public sector.”

Pocheon City will continue to actively gather citizens’ opinions and accelerate efforts to realize a humanities city built together with its citizens. The future of Pocheon’s humanities city model is growing in value as a sustainable community created jointly by citizens and public officials.

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