33.8% of Goyang Citizens Have Participated in Lifelong Learning
Up 8.3% from 25.6% in 2023
65% Cite "Lack of Time" as Reason for Not Participating
Need to Improve Learning Environment
Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced the results of the national statistics survey, "2024 Goyang City Lifelong Learning City Indicator Survey," on the 24th.
The "Goyang City Lifelong Learning City Indicator Survey" is conducted to chronologically verify and analyze the status, changes, and growth of lifelong learning cities, and to use the data as basic materials necessary for establishing lifelong learning policies and project plans in Goyang City.
First conducted in 2020, it was approved as national statistics in September 2022, securing the basis for continuous annual surveys as well as the objectivity, public nature, and reliability of the survey.
This survey was conducted from July 15 to August 31, 2024, with the participation of 1,020 households (1,865 individuals) aged between 20 and 74 residing in Goyang City. Through household visit interviews, evaluations and opinions on lifelong learning cities, participation status, and satisfaction with lifelong learning were investigated.
According to the survey results, 33.8% of Goyang citizens responded that they had at least one experience of participating in lifelong learning, which is 8.3% higher than in 2023 (25.6%). As of the survey reference date (July 1, 2024), the participation experience in lifelong learning over the past year was 26.9%, up 11.3% from 2023 (15.6%), showing a recovery in participation rates following the COVID-19 pandemic (which restricted face-to-face learning).
By program area, participation experience was highest in "Cultural and Arts Education" at 20.1%, followed by "Vocational Skills Education" at 4.6%, and "Humanities and General Education" at 3.6%. This reflects a growing interest in self-development, leisure utilization, and social interaction through lifelong learning, as well as high participation rates in the cultural and arts sector due to its emotional stability effects and trend reflection (popularity of DIY, art, musical instrument content, etc.).
Furthermore, when converting the influence of lifelong learning on individual lives into an average score out of 100 points, the results were: "Health Management" 78.8 points, "Psychological Satisfaction and Increased Happiness" 77.2 points, "Promotion of Social Relationships" 70.8 points, and "Self-Development" 70.1 points. It appears that Goyang citizens expect lifelong learning to improve quality of life by maintaining physical and mental health, enhancing a sense of accomplishment, and forming social relationships.
On the other hand, regarding reasons for not participating in lifelong learning over the past year, "lack of time" was the highest response at 65.0%, indicating a need to improve learning environments such as offering weekend and evening courses for working professionals who find it difficult to balance work and study, and parents burdened with childcare and housework.
Next, 23.8% responded that they "did not feel the need to learn," suggesting that efforts should be made to expand awareness of lifelong learning and increase motivation for acquiring new knowledge.
The results report can be downloaded from the Goyang City Hall website (Information Disclosure - Administrative Data Room) and the Goyang City Lifelong Learning Portal (Notice Board - Lifelong Learning Materials). In the future, the survey results will be visualized and made easily accessible through the big data analysis service "Data-based Goyang City."
Meanwhile, the city plans to conduct its own "Statistical Results User Satisfaction Survey" targeting users of the statistics to assess satisfaction regarding accuracy, convenience, and efficiency of the survey and to collect suggestions for improvement.
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