September 7-9, 3 Days Around Yangcheon-gu Office: "Changing Education Changes the Future" Theme with 16 Programs in 5 Fields... First Nationwide Education Expo Hosted by Local Government,
Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Lee Gijae) announced that it will hold the 'Y Education Expo' for the first time this year on a nationwide scale as the first local government in Korea, where participants can discuss the future direction of education in Korea, design career and academic paths, and directly experience the latest future technologies and lifelong learning trends.
Mayor Lee Gijae of Yangcheon-gu held a briefing at 11 a.m. on the 28th at the Seoul City Hall briefing room and said, "The first event will take place over three days from September 7 to 9 around Yangcheon-gu Office, and we plan to expand it annually to grow it into a representative expo of Korea in the future."
The Y Education Expo is characterized by Yangcheon-gu, renowned as the 'education hub,' preparing an expo that is on a completely different level from existing expos, allowing students, parents, teachers, and experts nationwide to see, hear, experience, and challenge everything from A to Z about future education.
The ‘Y’ in Y Education Expo symbolizes Yangcheon Y and the keyword WHY, representing curiosity and inquiry. It is based on the idea that all education begins with the question "Why?" and aims to find answers together about the new talent model in this era of educational transformation by asking everyone "Why?"
This expo, themed "If education changes, the future changes," will feature a total of five fields and 16 free programs. First, through the ▲Y Education Forum, it will analyze changing global education trends; ▲Star Mentor lectures and ▲Career Talk Concerts will explore the realization of youth dreams and future directions. Also, ▲Career and Academic Expo will establish career and academic planning strategies through customized admission counseling, and ▲Lifelong Learning Festival will be held to experience and discuss the changing paradigm of lifelong learning.
A forum with domestic and international future education experts and a meeting place with star mentors
The Y Education Forum, held alongside the opening ceremony on the first day, will be held under the main theme "Today's Education Creating the Future" at 3 p.m. on the 7th at the Yangcheon Culture Hall Grand Theater to discuss the direction future education should take amid changes in the educational paradigm.
The Y Education Forum is the area Yangcheon-gu has devoted the most effort to preparing among all expo programs, co-hosted with the public education platform EBS to greatly enhance publicness and expertise.
The forum, where five domestic and international scholars gather to raise key issues of future education, begins with an online keynote speech titled "A Different Future is Coming" by Professor Paul Yoon (former Harvard University admissions officer, professor of mathematics at El Camino College, NASA ambassador). The panel discussion, chaired by KAIST Professor Lee Seungseop, includes three panelists: Professor Hwang Nongmun, an expert in immersive education; astrophysicist Professor Hwang Jeonga; and Samsung HR specialist Professor Jung Gwontak.
On the second day, the 8th, at the Yangcheon Culture Hall Grand Theater, three domestic and international mentors will be invited to hold a Career Talk Concert and Star Mentor lectures to help youth resolve career and academic concerns and glimpse hope for their future dreams.
Reflecting recent surveys showing that the top desired occupation among students is athlete, former short track national team member Kwak Yoonki from Yangcheon-gu will be invited as a mentor to discuss the prospects of athletes and ways to overcome slumps in a talk show format with youth. Additionally, Jamie Beaton, CEO of Crimson Education, a consulting company for overseas university admissions and the person who was admitted to 25 prestigious overseas universities simultaneously, will be invited via video as an overseas mentor to share successful foreign university admission strategies.
In the ‘Star Mentor Lecture,’ Professor Han Jaegwon, a roboticist at Hanyang University who led the team to second place in the international RoboCup soccer competition for two consecutive years (2022-2023), will give a lecture titled "Robot Technology and the Future of Humans." Afterward, the Hanyang University Robot Research Team HERoEHS and humanoid robots will take the stage to demonstrate robotics technology combined with artificial intelligence.
A nationwide career and academic expo gathering future talent selection experts in one place
The career and academic expo, providing one-stop admission, academic, and career information tailored to student tendencies by current and former education experts for students and parents nationwide, will be held over two days on the 8th and 9th at Yangcheon-gu Citizens Sports Center and Haenuri Town, divided into a high school admission expo and a university admission information expo.
On the 8th, the high school admission expo will be held to help students choose high schools suited to their career and aptitude following the implementation of the high school credit system. A total of 17 schools, including nationwide autonomous private high schools (Sangsan High School, Yongin Foreign Language High School, Hana High School), science high schools (Sejong Science High School), foreign language high schools (Daeil Foreign Language High School, Myungduk Foreign Language High School), and 11 local schools, will participate to address concerns of students and parents preparing for high school admission.
On the 9th, the university admission information expo will be held with participation from 19 current and former admissions officers from local national/public universities, major universities in the metropolitan area, and vocational colleges. Ten former admissions officers from universities such as Seoul National University, Korea University, Ewha Womans University, and nine current admissions officers from universities including Korea Military Academy, Sogang University, and Kangwon National University will conduct one-on-one counseling. Additionally, study abroad briefings for prestigious overseas universities in the U.S., U.K., and others will be held. Furthermore, the Y Academic Mentoring Program will be available, where 18 university students from domestic and international universities serve as mentors sharing admission know-how and vivid university life experiences with 250 middle and high school mentees.
Four special zones showcasing future technologies and two competitions competing in the 4th industrial revolution
The Future Education Expo, held over three days around Yangcheon Park, will feature four special zones (Experience Booth Zone, Robot Zone, Air Dome Zone, Drone Zone) where participants can directly experience and enjoy the latest trends and changes in future technologies, creating a creative convergence experience space for all visitors.
First, ▲the Experience Booth Zone will operate 23 booths across five sections: makers, drones, AR/VR, artificial intelligence, and robots. ▲The Robot Zone will feature 'Titan,' the largest entertainer robot on Earth, performing time-based shows to provide visual entertainment for youth, and visitors can also enjoy beverages served by a robot barista. A transparent ▲Air Dome Zone with a diameter of 20 meters will be set up on the central lawn of Yangcheon Park, where visitors can experience VR technology and see quadruped robots and autonomous robots on display.
To enhance youth's artificial intelligence skills and global competencies, the expo will hold the nation's first ▲English speech contest using ChatGPT and a national youth drone soccer competition.
The English speech contest, the first in the nation to incorporate ChatGPT, involves writing English speeches using ChatGPT. Among applicants who submit manuscripts and presentation videos on three preliminary topics such as environmental issues, 20 finalists will compete for a total prize of 7.2 million KRW and certificates. Preliminary registration has attracted 219 applicants nationwide (161 middle school students, 58 high school students).
Additionally, the national drone soccer competition will be held at Yangcheon Park with 24 youth teams participating nationwide. Five players per team, divided into attackers and defenders, will control drone balls shaped like soccer balls to score goals against the opposing team. This event offers an opportunity to experience a futuristic sport and aims to nurture convergence talents leading 4th industrial revolution technologies. Winning teams will receive prizes and certificates worth a total of approximately 4.5 million KRW.
Lifelong Learning Festival to experience a new paradigm of lifelong education and design a second life
The district has prepared a lifelong learning festival filled with learning, play, and entertainment over three days under the theme "The Joy of Learning, My Prosperous Future," aiming to lead the lifelong education era encompassing all age groups from infants to seniors.
Breaking away from the traditional festival format focused on student presentations, the festival offers opportunities to empathize with the changing lifelong learning paradigm and find suitable learning styles through lectures by nine field experts, 10 experience programs, and two special exhibitions.
Especially, the nine special stage programs provide communication time to meet experts from various fields directly. Starting with a calligraphy performance by artist Lee San, who designed the Chamisul logo, the festival features communication with dog behavior expert Kang Hyungwook, travel writer Noh Mikyung, a performance by traditional mask maker and inheritor Shin Jeongcheol, and various professional career stories and live demonstrations such as hair shows and beauty shows by national representatives from the International Skills Olympics.
The expo opening ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. on the 7th at the Yangcheon Culture Hall Grand Theater, hosted by announcers Kim Jeonggeun and Lee Jiae, featuring an opening address by Mayor Lee Gijae and a VR drawing art opening performance. The closing ceremony at 7 p.m. on the 9th will include awards for competitions and a laser tron multimedia show. For more details about Y Education Expo 2023, please visit the official expo website.
Mayor Lee Gijae of Yangcheon-gu said, "The Y Education Expo, introduced for the first time this year, was planned for Yangcheon, an education city, to proactively seek solutions and present a vision for the future of education in Korea." He added, "Through this, we will enhance the status of Yangcheon as an education special zone and take this as an opportunity to truly become a genuine education city." He also expressed hope that "many people will visit the Y Education Expo, which has been carefully prepared for over a year, to directly experience the future that has come to us and gain insight into a greater future."
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