[OneDayOneThousandCharacters] Cultivate Humanities Literacy by Walking and Writing... Incheon Office of Education's 'ReadWalkWrite'

The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education has been conducting the 'Ilgeokssu' campaign under the goal of making Incheon a 'Humanities City' since last year, aiming to instill humanities literacy in children growing up in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Ilgeokssu, a combination of reading, walking, and writing, includes activities such as reading books, watching movies, and viewing cultural heritage to understand and learn about the world. It also involves 'walking' by reflecting on and contemplating the surrounding paths, and 'writing' by composing texts and publishing books. The goals set include reading 20 million books based on public library loan counts, having 100,000 participants walk 10,000 steps, and nurturing 300,000 authors.

Although Ilgeokssu is an activity conducted by the Office of Education, it is open to anyone freely, including elementary, middle, and high school students, parents, school staff, and general citizens. Last year, 9,844 students, 238 parents, 455 school staff, and 496 general citizens participated. This large-scale participation is due to the involvement of various institutions within the Incheon area. A platform connecting 395 libraries and 94 bookstores in Incheon, as well as walking clubs active in each neighborhood, has been established.

Last year, a Life Love Night Walk campaign was held in connection with this. On September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, participants read life-respecting fairy tale books and walked along night paths from sunset until dawn to feel the preciousness of life. Afterwards, they shared their impressions by writing, making it a comprehensive activity.

This year, to put Ilgeokssu on a solid track, the operation of walking clubs is being expanded, and programs such as exploring the Incheon Literature Trail are being actively promoted. The Incheon Literature Trail, composed of nine courses, connects spaces depicted in works set in Incheon. Notably, local teachers participated in creating the trail.

For writing, the 'Challenge! I am also an Author Project' was operated, linking school writing clubs with local publishers and professional writers for support. Through these activities, it is known that about 10,000 students, parents, and school staff published books last year.

Affiliated institutions are also conducting various additional programs. Juan Library is recruiting citizen autonomous clubs. This is to have citizens take the lead in various Ilgeokssu activities, including reading, and supports the operation of books and various programs. Bupyeong Library runs a program called 'One Sentence a Day Writing for Children.' A Bupyeong Library official explained the purpose of the program, saying, "By writing one sentence a day, children can develop a habit of writing daily and become more familiar with writing."