+ BACKGROUND, CHALLENGES AND OBJECTIVES
□ Background
• Established based on sophisticated urban planning, Songpa-gu has a balanced city infrastructure with natural environment as well as administrative facilities
• Prolonged COVID-19 situation made educational activities slow down, which led to more depressed residents and widened educational gap between classes and children
• From a social and economic aspect, Songpa-gu has a population of over 670,000, the largest among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, and the percentage of school-aged children is 7.5%, the highest among districts, leading to high interest in education among residents
□ Challenges
① Standardized education that does not consider students’ aptitudes and talents
② Economic difficulties resulting from private education
③ Adolescents and youth who stop receiving education as they cannot afford tuition
④ Lack of information, knowledge, and technology for preparing for the future
□ Objectives
① Establishment of educational support system that embraces all age groups, from infants to senior citizens
② Cultivation of creative future talents to lead the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution
③ Establishment of an educational community where excellent human resources of the local society participate in education
+ ACTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
□ Establishment of Educational Infrastructure of SSEM
• Main Projects
① Human Library
- A mentoring platform where excellent figures, including celebrities, experts, talents in the district, and others from companies and groups, participate to impart their expertise and experience
- Opening: Oct. 22, 2019
- Opening of PR Hall of Human Books: Apr. 2020
- Organization of Human Library
※ Participants: 555 individuals (*as of Oct. 1, 2020)
- Major Programs
‣ Human Book of the Month: Selecting the “Human Book of the Month” every month to promote the interview through media (Songpa News and Songpa TV) and hold special lectures
‣ Traveling Human Book: Education service of a human book who visits institutions for all ages that apply, such as schools, community centers, and senior citizen centers
‣ LIVE Human Book: “Human documentary reading” service for introducing the knowledge and experiences in the specialized field of the Human Book
② Education Portal
- Smart, customized educational platform to integrate various education infrastructure of Songpa-gu to let adolescents and residents easily use and apply for lectures they want to take
- Website: https://www.songpa.go.kr/ssem (scheduled)
※ Official opening scheduled for Jan. 2021
- Searching and applying for offline educational programs (major projects of SSEM), such as Human Library, Future Education Center, and Musical Instrument Library, on the Education Search Engine
- Providing comprehensive information on educational facilities of Songpa-gu
- Magnet School
Opening lectures reflecting the demands on “Magnet School,” the knowledge-sharing platform for students and local community
‣ I Want to Learn: Application for lectures wanted by youth and district residents
‣ I Can Teach: Hiring of instructors, such as experts of the local community, from the resource pool
‣ Let’s Learn Together: Setting the lectures and instructors, space to recruit students
③ Future Education Center
- An educational platform for cultivating talents of future convergence with global leadership and creative problem-solving abilities in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution characterized by AI coding, 3D printing, VR, robots, etc.
- Targets: Elementary, middle, and high school students, parents and adults living in the district
- Application: Online on the Education Portal
- Continual construction of Songpa Future Education Centers
15 centers will be open by 2021 to improve accessibility to future education and youth zones for activities
- Current Status of Future Education Centers
④ Musical Instrument Library & Music Creation Center
- A Mecca for Culture & Arts Education: Cultural complex where anyone can experience musical instruments through a rental service and be supported in their creative musical activities
※ Scheduled Opening: Mar. 2021
- Location: Underground passage at the junction in front of Songpa-gu Office Building
- Target: Youth and residents living in the district, schools, communities of each dong, etc.
- How to Borrow Instruments: Online on the Education Portal
- Types of Instruments: Keyboard, wind, percussion, string, and recording instruments
- How to Borrow Instruments: Online on the Education Portal
⑤ Self-directed Learning Center
- Cultivation of creative talents to lead the future society and creation of a happy learning atmosphere
- Self-directed Learning Program
‣ Creating good learning habits, 1-on-1 study coaching
‣ Self-directed learning vacation camp, study coaching class for Songpa moms
‣ Counseling Programs: MLST study strategy test, group counseling for parents for dealing with stress related to child-rearing, etc.
- SSEM Home-schooling: Public education support program for improving basic academic skills and learning abilities of students from 1st grade to sophomore year of high school (1-on-1 mentoring with a learning assistant and university student)
⑥ Career Advancement Support Center
- A space for adolescents to find their aptitudes through realistic job experiences
- Supporting adolescents’ exploration into future jobs in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution through job experiences based on free-grade scheme of the Ministry of Education
+ OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS
□ Achievement
• Following the successful execution of the educational projects of SSEM, the excellence of SSEM was recognized nationally and internationally. Songpa-gu became the member of UNESCO Global Learning Cities Network and was selected as one of five excellent learning cities in Korea. Execution of particular businesses to continually support sustainable education for adolescents and residents of the district.
① Human Library
- Selection of 6 Human Books of the Month; creation of live documentaries of 20 Human Books shared on the SSEM YouTube channel
- Online and offline Human Book education
‣ Offline: Face-to-face classes in elementary, middle, and high schools and Songpa Kium Center, participation of 155 Human Books, 244 activity sessions, 1,900 views by the students
‣ Online: More than 40 school-customized online lecture videos, creation of class kits, participation of 59 Human Books, 490 classes at 9 elementary schools, 13,000 views by the students
② Education Portal
- Introduction and PR of educational infrastructure through teaser page on the SSEM online campus
③ Future Education Center
- Creation of 3 new Future Education Centers (#4, #5, #6)
- Operation of Future Education Center programs
④ Instrument Library & Music Creation Center
- Design outsourcing in the works
- Wind and string instruments rental at branches of Instrument Library, education program associated with musical Human Books
- Creation of online music educational content
⑤ Self-directed Learning Center
- Operation of 10 programs (1,410 participants)
- 20 online videos (5,000 views)
- Home-schooling Program
‣ Creation of curriculum for enhancing basic academic abilities and creation of textbooks (12 kinds)
‣ Organization of groups of study assistants (20 individuals) and university student mentors (15 individuals)
‣ No. of Participants: 180 (early elementary school students: 60, later elementary school to high school students: 120)
⑥ Career Advancement Support Center
- 21 programs (11,959 participants)
‣ Offline: 9 programs (1,999 participants)
‣ Online: 12 programs (9,960 participants)
(46 videos, 9,836 views)
+ REPLICABILITY AND SCALABILITY
As it operates the original education model of the district, Songpa Smart Education Model (SSEM), Songpa-gu is already receiving inquiries from several other local governments for a benchmark. The communication methods that combine online and offline channels of SSEM will be settled as a new educational format even after the COVID-19 situation, following the trends of “ontact” (online, non-contact). Thus, it is a policy that applies to other regions.
+ BUDGET AMOUNT
Necessary Budget: KRW 3,242 million
(District Budget: KRW 1,389 million, National Budget: KRW 703 million,
Municipal Budget: KRW 700 million, External Sources: KRW 450 million)
