Why Did Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, Promote Customized Literacy Education by Social Class?

Songpa-gu to Host Meeting with World-Renowned Picture Book Author Suzy Lee on the 25th; About 100 Youths and Adults to Engage in Communication and Imagination through Picture Books

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District

Artist Suji Lee

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is the first local government in the nation to promote a literacy education policy targeting residents of all ages throughout Songpa-gu and introduce various activation programs.

‘Literacy’ refers to the ability to read and interpret text. In a broader sense, it means the ability to read, interpret with one’s own thoughts, create, and communicate.

Recently, the concept has expanded to include wisdom to understand the world amid overflowing information and to cultivate a sense of agency.

However, in Korea’s case, the OECD’s International Adult Competency Survey (2013), conducted every ten years, showed that while language and numeracy skills were at the OECD average, problem-solving skills involving reading and application were below the OECD average.

Accordingly, the district recognized the need for literacy education and developed Songpa-type literacy education content, the first of its kind among local governments nationwide.

Utilizing various educational and cultural platforms such as public libraries, schools, Songpa Saem Future Education Center, and the cultural experimental space Hosu, the district is promoting the ‘Songpa-ga Songpahari (Hi Literacy, High Songpa) Project,’ which anyone can participate in.

In particular, the district conducts customized education by setting different strategic tasks according to age groups. ▲Elementary students focus on basic literacy ▲Youth on YouTube and media literacy ▲Adults on cultural and news literacy development.

In the second half of this year, the ‘100 Picture Books Literacy School’ will be piloted mainly at public libraries and schools. The district stated that picture books can be enjoyed by all ages from infants to the elderly and that text and illustrations can be used in various ways.

As a start, on the 25th, a meeting with the world-renowned picture book author ‘Lee Suji’ was held. The author was selected as the Illustrator of the Year at the 2002 Bologna International Children’s Book Fair and in 2008, her work "Wave, Let’s Play" was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book.

Using a video conferencing app, the online meeting provided about 100 youths and adults with an opportunity to communicate through picture books and unleash their imagination.

In addition, the district will contribute to enhancing residents’ thinking skills and literacy by conducting various literacy education programs that can be experienced in daily life, such as picture book citizen culture salons, youth picture book schools, and picture book open studios.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “Having experienced COVID-19, we realized the importance of critically viewing various social issues and actively participating.” He added, “We will fully support the ‘Songpa-ga Songpahari (Hi Literacy, High Songpa) Project,’ which is being implemented for the first time in Songpa, so that it can spread through Songpa Saem to schools, libraries, and every household.”