10th Anniversary of Park Jonghoon as Gyeongnam Superintendent: Proposes Solutions for Low Birthrate, School Violence, and Teachers' Rights Protection

Gyeongnam Social Care, Arts and Culture Education, and Teacher Healing Support Center

Park Jonghoon, the Superintendent of Education for Gyeongnam, who marked his 10th anniversary in office this year after being elected for three consecutive terms since his first inauguration in 2014, held a press conference at the Uiryeong Education Support Office on the 27th.

Superintendent Park stated, "As someone who has served as superintendent for 10 consecutive years, I feel a strong sense of responsibility," and added, "Rather than sharing past achievements, I want to speak about the weight of new challenges that lie ahead of us."

He diagnosed that education failing to keep up with technological innovation and social change, the deepening gap between rich and poor, an entrance exam system that requires students to prove themselves through grades, and disconnected individualization without empathy and solidarity all accelerate low birth rates and the extinction of local communities.

To address these issues, he announced plans to implement: ▲Gyeongnam-style social care ▲Expansion of culture and arts education ▲Strengthening the protection of educational activities.

Park Jonghun, Superintendent of Education of Gyeongnam Province, is answering reporters' questions at the 10th anniversary press conference of his inauguration.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The Gyeongnam-style social care model is a new approach jointly developed by the Office of Education and local governments. It is an advanced form of the Neulbom Integrated Center, which was the first of its kind in the nation to be established and operated by the Gyeongnam Office of Education.

The Office of Education plans to select two to three regions through the ongoing application process and begin pilot operations around March next year.

Superintendent Park explained, "This is a form where the region and the Office of Education pool available personnel and spaces, providing care and education for children from the morning when parents leave for work until the evening when they return."

He added, "We will do our best to provide the best education and care for children, but after school, it is right for one parent to reduce working hours to care for their child directly," and "We will continue to propose to the government to increase the time parents can spend with their children."

Regarding the Ministry of Education's plan to assign a Neulbom Support Office Director as a fixed-term educational researcher to the Neulbom Schools, which will be expanded to all elementary schools nationwide in September, he expressed a negative stance.

Superintendent Park said, "I agree with the Ministry of Education that more personnel are needed for proper care, but teachers should be excluded from care duties," and "If superintendents are given discretion over personnel, I am confident that I can make Neulbom Schools a success."

He continued, "The Gyeongnam-style Neulbom will be expanded to all elementary schools in the province from the second semester," and emphasized, "From the beginning, we separated after-school care for care workers and regular classes for teachers, and we will continue to ensure that teachers are not burdened with care duties."

Superintendent Park also stated that he would address ongoing issues such as school violence and extreme choices through expanded support for school arts instructors and cultural and arts education for students.

He said, "The low birth rate issue starts from the conclusion that we are not happy right now," and "Education cannot raise the birth rate, but it can increase the total amount of happiness."

He added, "In this era, students' cultural and artistic sensitivity is being emphasized," and "By supporting school arts instructors, we will provide students with in-depth arts education, reduce teachers' workloads, and offer opportunities for arts instructors to demonstrate their expertise."

He declared, "We plan to focus next year on efforts to refine student violence by ushering in a renaissance of Gyeongnam cultural and arts education," and "This year, we are running 60,000 hours of arts education with a budget of 2 billion won, but next year, we will increase it to 10 billion won and expand the number of class hours."

He also said that to compensate for the negative effects of introducing digital textbooks, such as students' digital dependency and digital device addiction, cultural and arts education and sports activities will be increased.

Park Jonghun, Superintendent of Education of Gyeongnam Province, is shaking hands with reporters after the 10th anniversary press conference of his inauguration. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Superintendent Park also said that policies to protect educational activities from infringements on teachers' authority would be strengthened.

He stated, "Protection of educational authority is needed for everyone from teachers to supervisors, administrative staff, professionals, and instructors," and "It is not the superintendent's job to leave staff whose self-esteem has been damaged by unusual complaints in the field as they are."

He added, "I will complete a space for wounded staff to recover and heal by utilizing closed schools under the Office of Education before I retire," and "Currently, we are considering one location in Geoje and one in Namhae for the establishment of a Teacher Healing Support Center."

Superintendent Park said, "For the past 10 years, I have focused on educational innovation with the determination not to give up on a single child and have laid the foundation for future education," and "I will faithfully fulfill my role as superintendent for the remaining two years."

He also said, "Although it may be a bit early to say, when I complete my term, I want to be evaluated as having made Gyeongnam children happy over the past 12 years, enabled staff to approach children more closely, and properly established the foundation for future education."