Yeongju City Focuses on Cultivating Global Talent with Seonbi Spirit

Scholarships, English Experience Center, and Educational Environment Improvement

Establishing a Foundation for Advancing as a Sustainable Education City

Yeongju City, a traditional educational city that has nurtured numerous talents at Sosu Seowon, the first state-sponsored private Confucian academy, is taking the lead in fostering outstanding local talents through various educational welfare policies with the goal of becoming the top education and child-friendly city in the northern Gyeongbuk region.

Park Nam-seo, Chairman (Mayor), presiding over the regular board meeting of the Yeongju City Talent Development Planning Association.

With the spirit of Seonbi (Confucian scholars) alive and focusing on nurturing future talents, the city is prioritizing the operation of the Talent Development Scholarship Foundation for future talent cultivation, continuous support for English education to foster global talents, and student-centered educational environment improvement projects.

▲ Operation of Yeongju Talent Development Scholarship Foundation to instill hope, challenge, and vision in future talents

Since its launch in 2008, the Yeongju Talent Development Scholarship Foundation has raised 21.4 billion KRW in scholarship funds as of March 2023, continuing the tradition of Yeongju as an educational city and opening a new chapter. From 2008 to last year, 2,430 scholarship recipients were selected, and a total of 2.897 billion KRW in scholarships was awarded.

Since 2021, the foundation has signed a business agreement for local government dormitory quota with the Hongje Happiness Dormitory in Seoul, supporting dormitory fees for university students from the Yeongju area to provide stable living conditions and foster a study-friendly atmosphere.

This year, marking the 15th anniversary of the foundation, a Hall of Fame was established on the lobby wall of the first floor of the City Hall main building to honor major donors and express the city’s gratitude.

In 2023, a total of 314 scholarship students will be selected, about 30 more than last year. Applications are accepted until April 7, and detailed information can be found on the Yeongju Talent Development Scholarship Foundation website.

▲ Continuous support for English education to foster global talents

The city operates four English experience centers, including the hub-type Yeongju English Experience Center and regional centers in Yeongil, Punggi, and Buseok, to provide enjoyable English communication and high-quality foreign language education opportunities aimed at nurturing global talents.

Since establishing the first elementary school English experience center in Gyeongbuk in 2007, the city has developed it into a cradle of universal educational welfare, offering various educational programs such as English camps and after-school classes to students.

This year, for the first time since the centers opened in 2008, approximately 200 million KRW has been invested in the four English experience centers to replace outdated furniture such as desks, chairs, and blackboards, and to remodel the facilities, thereby securing competitiveness through a safe educational environment.

▲ Promotion of student-centered educational environment improvement projects

Investment in education is essential for advancing toward a sustainable city. Over the past decade, Yeongju City has invested about 13.2 billion KRW in elementary, middle, and high schools to create a student-centered educational environment.

Last year, the city supported projects such as the expansion of the Yeongju High School practice building, construction of outdoor gymnasiums at Bonghyeon and Okdae Elementary Schools, and the construction of a gymnasium at Yeonggwang Girls’ High School, increasing educational finances to support the future children of the region.

Starting this year, to reduce parents’ educational expenses and strengthen the public nature of education, the city will provide financial support for the purchase of school uniforms and other items to first-year middle and high school students. Eligible recipients are first-year students enrolled in middle and high schools or educational institutions inside or outside the city who have their resident registration in Yeongju, with support amounting to 300,000 KRW per student.

Mayor Namseo Park stated, “Yeongju’s hundred-year future will be realized through educational welfare policies,” adding, “We will focus on customized educational policies and nurturing local talents to become an educational city with an environment ideal for raising children.”