Busan Office of Education Establishes and Announces 2024 Early Childhood Education Plan in Busan

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education has established and announced the ‘2023 Busan Early Childhood Education Plan,’ which includes major policies and key tasks for 2023.

This plan was prepared to widely inform the policy direction of Busan early childhood education and the major policy changes in 2023, and to support the organization and operation of kindergarten-specific, distinctive early childhood and play-centered curricula.

The main policy directions for Busan early childhood education this year are ▲ customized education to develop future competencies ▲ safe and reliable secure education ▲ communicative and respectful empathetic education.

Accordingly, the four key tasks of Busan early childhood education are a ‘play-centered early childhood curriculum’ where play becomes learning, ‘future education’ creating a digital play environment, a healthy and safe ‘after-school program (care classroom),’ and ‘character education’ based on respect and consideration.

Busan Office of Education.

The Office of Education plans to establish future-oriented digital classrooms in 130 kindergartens, including 37 public and 93 private kindergartens, utilizing multimedia learning devices such as AR and VR and digital learning equipment.

Additionally, through the operation of digital classrooms, peer interaction will be activated, and digital ethics education for young children will be conducted to prevent media overdependence and overimmersion.

Survival swimming education will be provided to about 600 five-year-old children. It will be conducted in about 10 sessions, combining theoretical classes and one-day field experiential practice classes, with a budget support of 50,000 KRW per child.

Support for securing safety on school buses will also be expanded, including budget support for safety assistants (co-riders) for all public and private kindergartens.

For directly operated children’s school buses, to eliminate driver blind spots and prevent traffic accidents, the purchase and installation cost of ‘Around View’ will be supported at 2.3 million KRW per vehicle, and the purchase and installation cost of rear sensors will be supported at 400,000 KRW per vehicle.

Communicative and respectful empathetic education will strengthen experience-centered character education such as environment, ecology, and reading education, and to revitalize cultural and arts education, programs like ‘Dream Performance Visiting Kindergartens’ and ‘Small Art Museum Inside Kindergarten’ will be operated.

Professional art groups will visit kindergartens to perform various genres, and works by local painters and artists will be available for viewing at kindergartens for a certain period.

The Busan Office of Education will hold a ‘2023 Kindergarten Education Plan Establishment Support Workshop’ on the 17th using Zoom for about 600 kindergarten teachers to ensure smooth field settlement of Busan early childhood education policies.

At the workshop, Kim Sun-ok, the head supervisor of early childhood education at the city education office, will present the policy directions of Busan early childhood education and the major policy changes in 2023.

The Office of Education has distributed the ‘2023 Busan Early Childhood Education Plan’ booklet to all kindergartens and uploaded the materials on the education office website to increase utilization.

Kim Sun-ryang, head of the elementary education division at the city education office, said, “This plan will be a solid stepping stone for implementing our education office’s early childhood education policies throughout this year,” and added, “We will continue to spare no support so that there are no difficulties in operating play-centered curricula in the field through workshops and other means.”