Support for Human and Material Infrastructure of IB Program with Seoul Southern Office of Education
Fostering Future Talents Creating a Better World through Proactive Learning
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) announced on the 15th that it has signed a business agreement with the Southern Seoul Office of Education (Superintendent Lee Moon-soo) for the first time in Seoul to establish a foundation for operating the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in local schools and to nurture future talents.
The IB program is an internationally recognized curriculum developed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), headquartered in Switzerland. Unlike traditional rote learning, the IB program encourages students to develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills through student-led discussions and essay writing.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mayor Yu Seong-hoon of Geumcheon-gu, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jo Hee-yeon, Superintendent Lee Moon-soo of the Southern Seoul Office of Education, and a total of 11 officials.
The main contents of the agreement include ▲ cooperation between the two institutions to establish and activate the IB program operation foundation in schools within Geumcheon-gu ▲ creation of human and material infrastructure for operating the IB program ▲ mutual exchange and joint utilization of educational materials, and other measures to actively promote the introduction of the IB program.
IB school certification follows a process from interested schools to candidate schools and then certified schools, and only “IB certified schools” officially authorized by the IB headquarters can offer IB education.
The IB program involves 1.95 million students from 5,600 schools in 159 countries worldwide. In Seoul, 38 schools (22 elementary and 16 middle schools) are interested schools, and 6 schools (3 elementary and 3 middle schools) are candidate schools. In Geumcheon-gu, Munseong Middle School has been selected as an interested school and is currently operating the program.
Mayor Yu Seong-hoon of Geumcheon-gu said, “It is very meaningful to sign an agreement with the Office of Education to establish a foundation for operating the IB program as the first autonomous district in Seoul.” He added, “Through this agreement, we will lay the groundwork for Geumcheon-gu to become a special education zone for IB education and will spare no effort to provide more students with diverse educational opportunities.”
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