"Premium Education City Naju"... Expanding the Nest for Talent Development

Promoting “Future-Oriented Education Policies” in the 8th Popularly Elected Administration
Establishing a New Model for Local Talent Development and Settlement
A Virtuous Cycle: Local Talent Driving Regional Development
Collaboration Among Innovation City, Public Institutions, Universities, and K-12 Schools

Mayor Yoon Byungtae (right) is encouraging students who came out to support their seniors taking the College Scholastic Ability Test on the 13th. Provided by Naju City

The educational gap between small local cities and large metropolitan areas cannot be resolved through temporary or fragmented support. Transformative changes that can be felt by students, parents, and the local community are needed by fundamentally altering the region’s educational foundation. Mayor Yoon Byungtae of Naju City has designated education as the core of the city’s competitiveness since the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, focusing city administration efforts on innovating the educational system.

◇ Naju Future Education Support Center: Hub for Educational Innovation

Naju City established the Naju Future Education Support Center in 2023 as a central hub to bridge the educational gap with large cities. The center supports students’ academic abilities and career exploration through programs such as “Proud to Know Naju,” “Is It Gangnam?,” “Naju-Learn,” and the Nadyeyong Convergence Science Classroom, serving as a platform for regionally tailored educational services.

Since last year, the city has signed an agreement with Gangnam District Office to allow local middle and high school students to enroll in the “Is It Gangnam?” program, providing 300 students with unlimited access to major subject lectures in Korean, English, and mathematics for an annual fee of 10,000 won. “Naju-Learn” is a project that enables students to freely access online lectures from the renowned educational website Megastudy for one year.

The city also stands out for its collaborative programs linking local educational resources with public institutions relocated to the innovation city. Examples include the ESP English Learning Center (for elementary students) in partnership with Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KEN TECH), “I Am Also a Learner” (arts experience for elementary and middle school students) with the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service, and the Etiquette Learning Center at Naju Hyanggyo. These programs, which combine local human and cultural resources, are credited with enhancing the diversity and competitiveness of Naju’s educational ecosystem.

◇ Jeollanam-do’s First “Naju Ae Baeum Voucher”

Naju City was the first in Jeollanam-do to introduce the “Naju Ae (Love) Learning Voucher” system to guarantee citizens’ lifelong learning rights. This program provides each Naju citizen with an annual learning subsidy of 150,000 won, expanding from 2,500 recipients in 2023 to 3,000 in 2024, and to 5,000 in 2025. Currently, more than 200 institutions accept the voucher. Citizens can participate in a wide range of courses, including sports, arts, certification, and foreign languages, significantly improving access to self-development opportunities.

◇ Pilot Region for “Educational Advancement Special Zone”

In February 2024, Naju was selected as the first pilot region (leading area) for the Ministry of Education’s “Educational Advancement Special Zone” project, attracting nationwide attention. The Educational Advancement Special Zone is a national educational innovation model in which local governments, education support offices, universities, businesses, and public institutions collaborate to operate regionally customized joint curricula, providing high-quality education from kindergarten through university within the region.

Naju City aims to achieve formal designation as an Educational Advancement Special Zone following a three-year pilot operation and a comprehensive evaluation by the Special Zone Committee. The key achievement of this initiative is the autonomous public high school and public institution-linked region-specific joint curriculum. For example, Maeseong High School and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) jointly operate a security-specialized course, while Bonghwang High School and the Korea Creative Content Agency collaborate on media content production education. Naju High School, in partnership with Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Institute of Energy Technology, offers energy-related education. This policy leverages Naju’s unique strength of having abundant public institution infrastructure within the innovation city, broadening students’ career choices and providing practical education models that help students enter industries through actual employment.

If the special zone designation becomes official, long-term effects are expected, such as expanding educational infrastructure, increasing rotational programs between public institutions and schools, and improving local employment rates.

◇ Admission Support Fund for New Elementary Students

In 2024, Naju City introduced the “Ayi Sook-Sook Library Project” for the first time in Jeollanam-do, supporting prenatal and infant reading education for expectant mothers and parents of newborns. The project provides “book packages” and parental education to prospective parents, receiving positive feedback. Launched to make Naju a city where it is good to give birth and raise children, the project actively supports happy pregnancies and childbirth and assists in the cognitive development and growth of fetuses through prenatal reading education, contributing to a happy life for babies.

Since 2023, all new elementary school students have received an admission support fund of 100,000 won (in local currency). This policy aims to reduce the initial educational expenses borne by parents and foster a city that is friendly to childbirth and childrearing.

◇ Diverse International Programs for “Global Talent Development”

Naju City has expanded step-by-step English education support projects such as “Base-Type English Experience Class,” “Elementary English Camp,” and “Middle School U.S. Language Training” to enhance students’ global competencies, achieving excellent results.

The city’s base-type English experience classes for elementary students provide situational English education with native speakers, greatly boosting students’ confidence in speaking English. The elementary English camp, held during school vacations, focuses on experiential and play-based learning, resulting in high satisfaction and growing demand each year. The U.S. language training program for middle school students strengthens global cultural understanding and practical English skills through participation in local school classes and homestay experiences, receiving enthusiastic responses from parents.

Naju City plans to further expand these English education programs to solidify its foundation for nurturing global talent.

◇ “Lifelong Learning Leading City Naju”... Excellence Proven by Various Awards

Naju City’s lifelong learning policies have gained nationwide recognition for their excellence. The city has been honored with the Excellence Award at the Ministry of Education’s Korea Lifelong Learning Awards in 2022, the “Good Policy Award” for Lifelong Learning Cities in Korea for two consecutive years (2023-2024), the top prize in the Jeollanam-do City and County Lifelong Education Evaluation (2024), and the Encouragement Award (2023), among other accolades.

To expand lifelong learning infrastructure, the city has signed agreements with more than 40 institutions, establishing a learning ecosystem that connects the private sector, government, industry, and academia. In particular, the 4th Jeollanam-do Lifelong Learning Expo held in October 2024 attracted 155 institutions and 31,393 participants, demonstrating Naju’s capabilities as a lifelong learning city to the entire nation.

◇ Fostering “Glocal Talent”: Four Strategies and Seventeen Projects

In connection with the Educational Advancement Special Zone initiative, Naju City is operating 17 detailed projects centered on four main strategies: fostering glocal talent through overseas training, strengthening care education, providing customized education linked to local resources, and nurturing industry-specific skilled professionals. Overseas training and international exchange camps broaden students’ global perspectives, while regionally tailored career education linked to agriculture, energy, culture, and business fields has been expanded.

Care education has been enhanced by strengthening after-school and weekend care functions, reducing the childcare burden on parents. Public institution and business-linked skilled workforce training is contributing to strengthening the local employment base. These efforts are the core foundation for realizing Naju City’s vision of a “sustainable educational city where people learn and grow locally.”

Mayor Yoon Byungtae stated, “Naju aims to change its future through education. Providing educational opportunities on par with the Seoul metropolitan area and enabling locally nurtured talent to pursue their dreams in the region are essential for a sustainable city.” He added, “We will steadfastly pursue the Educational Advancement Special Zone initiative and future education policies to make Naju a city renowned for its premium education.”

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