Seoul 50 Plus Foundation-Happiness Alliance, 'Happy Out-of-School Teachers' Project Until November

Filling 'At-Risk Families' COVID Learning Gaps' with Middle-Aged Volunteer Teachers
50+ Generation with Over 10 Years of Teaching Experience Conducts 1-on-1 Online Korean, English, and Math Classes

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul 50 Plus Foundation announced on the 2nd that it will start the ‘Happy Out-of-School Teachers’ project in collaboration with the social contribution network Happy Alliance to fill the COVID-19 learning gap.

This project supports learning for students from food-insecure families who have experienced learning loss due to COVID-19, by 50+ middle-aged individuals (aged 50-64) with over 10 years of teaching experience in elementary, middle, high schools, universities, and special schools. Through a non-face-to-face education program (Zoom), they provide one-on-one tutoring in Korean, English, and Math, as well as emotional mentoring. The program runs once a week (4 hours per session) for a total of 3 months from September to November.

The target beneficiaries are elementary, middle, and high school students receiving ‘Happy Lunchbox’ support through the ‘Happy Two Meals Project’ conducted by Happy Alliance. Happy Alliance is a social contribution network that solves issues faced by children who do not receive welfare benefits through cooperation among companies, government, and citizens. The Happy Two Meals Project is a regional cooperation system established by Happy Alliance member companies, local governments, communities, and citizens to achieve zero hunger among domestic food-insecure children, ensuring that children with meal gaps receive at least two meals a day through Happy Lunchbox support.

Seoul City aims to actively utilize the wisdom, experience, and caregiving capabilities of the 50+ generation with professional backgrounds to support learning for vulnerable groups amid concerns about learning disparities due to prolonged COVID-19-related school class reductions, helping students continue their studies without giving up even in the pandemic situation.

Additionally, the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation is openly recruiting ‘Happy Out-of-School Teachers’ to participate in this volunteer activity. Eligibility requires being a 50+ generation (aged 50-64) resident or living in Seoul with over 10 years of teaching experience in elementary, middle, high schools, universities, or special schools.

Applications can be submitted online through the 50+ portal from the 2nd to the 12th. About 30 candidates will be selected through document screening and interviews. Those finally selected will receive basic training (non-face-to-face) before starting activities. ‘Happy Out-of-School Teachers’ will be paid an activity fee of 13,000 KRW per day (based on 4 hours).

Lee Hae-woo, Acting CEO of the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation, said, “The ‘Happy Out-of-School Teachers’ project is a new social contribution activity to reduce learning gaps caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing the wisdom and capabilities of the 50+ generation.” He added, “Through this project, we hope the 50+ generation will play a practical mentoring role for local students and gain great fulfillment through social contribution activities themselves.”