Ulsan Office of Education Protects Student Mental Health... Student-Customized Programs Operated Centered on Wee Center

Strengthening Student Support through Enhanced Professional Counseling Capabilities in Collaborative Bodies

Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Cheon Chang-su) is strengthening support for student mental health and enhancing the capabilities of professional counselors.

Student-tailored programs are being intensively operated centered around the Wee Center. The Healing Wee Center provides psychological and emotional support programs for high school students after the college entrance exam to help relieve academic stress and career concerns.

The Gangbuk Wee Center supports healthy growth of students through a self-developed mental health program for elementary school students. The Residential Wee Center focuses on restorative life education programs for boarding students, fostering a community culture. It also supports at-risk students and schools in cooperation with external medical institutions and counseling agencies.

Ulsan Office of Education is also committed to strengthening the capabilities of professional counselors. For new and interested professional counselors, it provides second-half Wee Class consulting to help them effectively address students' psychological and emotional difficulties.

It operates 27 regional 'Wee Class Councils,' each composed of 6 to 8 members, providing opportunities for professional counselors to share student counseling cases and grow together.

Six teams of middle and high school student mental health program development clubs are being recruited, with budget support and encouragement for autonomous research activities.

The Gangnam Wee Center conducted a training session on the 22nd for Wee Center professional counselors, social workers, and clinical psychologists in the Ulsan area to support professional development.

Ulsan Office of Education was selected in July for the Ministry of Education's 'Wee Project Pilot Program' and plans to implement four major tasks by June 2025 to expand the mental health safety net for students.

They plan to establish a system that systematically and integratively supports students' psychological and emotional issues through expanding mental health-centered functions and targets, building an integrated support system inside and outside schools, strengthening Wee Class and Center capabilities, and creating an environment for psychological and emotional support for students.