Seoul Cyber University Alumnus CEO Park Sinjeong Receives Minister of Education Award in After-School Care Sector

- (Sa) Hamkke Kkumkkuneun Darakbang Representative, Bongyang Dahamkke Dolbom Center Director
- Recruitment of New and Transfer Students for the 2024 Academic Year until Thursday, January 11, 2024

On Thursday, November 30, at KINTEX in Ilsan, Park Sin-jung, an alumna of the Welfare Management major at Seoul Cyber University (President Lee Eun-joo) and CEO of the corporation "Together Dreaming Attic" as well as the director of the Bongyang Care Center in Uiseong County, was honored with the Minister of Education Award in the Ministry of Education’s After-School Care Awards category.

The award ceremony was held with about 300 guests in attendance, including around 20 Ministry of Education officials and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, who personally attended the event. The after-school care awards are organized annually by the Ministry of Education and judged by the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, which also administers the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Due to COVID-19, the after-school care awards were held again after four years. Schools recognized for outstanding after-school care cases, including six schools from Seoul and Gyeonggi and nine schools from Daegu and Gyeongbuk, receive awards and have their best practices published in a collection distributed to over 500 schools nationwide. Among the 30 awardees, the corporation "Together Dreaming Attic" (CEO Park Sin-jung) is the only recipient not affiliated with elementary, middle, or high schools but instead operates under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, targeting general children. The ceremony was broadcast live on the Ministry of Education’s YouTube channel.

CEO Park Sin-jung, originally from Geumseong, Uiseong, graduated from Bongyang Commercial High School and worked as a bank employee in Seoul before running a private academy. With a passion for social welfare, she enrolled in the Welfare Management major at Seoul Cyber University’s College of Social Welfare in 2015, obtained her social worker certification, and laid the foundation for starting and professionally managing social service organizations through social service startup workshops. She returned to her hometown three years ago to begin caring for local children. In 2022, she established the corporation Together Dreaming Attic and began full-scale activities, receiving support earlier this year from the Samsung Dream Scholarship Foundation. Park has especially focused on improving academic skills and vocabulary for rural children who lack access to private academies. She developed a game-based learning program called “Vocabulary Boom Boom,” adapted from EBS textbooks, which effectively stimulates children’s interest in learning. Additionally, she organized events where village elders and children in care participate together, garnering positive responses from the local community. For these achievements, she recently received a plaque of merit from her alma mater, Seoul Cyber University’s president.

Regarding the Minister of Education Award, Park Sin-jung, CEO of Together Dreaming Attic, said, “I believe the recognition came from our efforts to create a more enjoyable study time tailored to the children’s level, compared to the current after-school programs, until their parents return.”

The Welfare Management major at Seoul Cyber University combines social welfare and business administration curricula to support students in achieving their dreams of becoming professional social welfare practitioners. It offers structured education tracks including social worker certification, social service establishment, and welfare institution management, integrating professional theory with practical fieldwork. The program also provides training opportunities through offline special lectures and workshops linked to the field, contributing to the development of skilled professionals in the social service sector and leading online social welfare education. Special lectures and workshops featuring alumni are regularly held for current students and graduates aspiring to become welfare facility management experts.

Seoul Cyber University is the cyber university with the highest number of students enrolled for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023 according to University Alimi), and it is the first cyber university in Korea to receive an A grade in all three official Ministry of Education accreditation evaluations (2007, 2013, 2020). This year, it established the AI Convergence College and newly launched departments including AI Service Marketing, AI Real Estate Big Data, AI Smart Farm, and Practical English, while expanding and reorganizing departments such as Artificial Intelligence, Unification Security and North Korea Studies, Defense Industry and National Defense Management, and AI Creator.

Seoul Cyber University is currently recruiting new and transfer students until Thursday, January 11, 2024, across 43 departments (majors) in 11 colleges. It offers the largest number of majors among cyber universities. Admission is open to anyone with a high school diploma or higher for new students, and transfer students must meet the academic qualifications for their respective year levels. Applications can be submitted via the Seoul Cyber University admissions website or mobile platform.