Graduation Ceremony Held for Third Class of Mapo Filial Piety School, Fostering Intergenerational Empathy

Kangsoo Park, Mayor of Mapo District (left), and Heewon Jung, Professor

Mapo District (Mayor Kangsoo Park) held the graduation ceremony for the third class of the 'Mapo Filial Piety School' at 10 a.m. on April 26 in Majunghall, located on the 6th floor of Mapo Central Library.

Approximately 381 people, including Kangsoo Park, Mayor of Mapo District, and graduates of the third class of the Filial Piety School, attended the ceremony to celebrate and encourage the completion of the four-week journey.

The 'Mapo Filial Piety School' is a unique educational program developed by Mapo District that goes beyond a simple lifelong learning curriculum. Its aim is to reexamine the value of filial piety and help restore healthy intergenerational relationships.

This third session began with a lecture by Professor Kyungil Kim titled "The Closest Yet Farthest Relationship: How to Get Along with Family." It continued with Attorney Inchul Lee's "A New Culture of Filial Piety: The Filial Piety Agreement," Professor Jaechan Jung's "As I Grow Older, I Appreciate Poetry," and Professor Heewon Jung's "How to Age Healthily and Slowly." The program concluded with enthusiastic participation from the students.

The graduation ceremony included the awarding of certificates, congratulatory remarks from Kangsoo Park, Mayor of Mapo District, to the graduates who completed the four-week journey, a commemorative photo session, and the final lecture.

Kangsoo Park, Mayor of Mapo District, stated, "I would like to give a big round of applause for your passion and filial devotion over the past four weeks at the Filial Piety School," and added, "I hope the Filial Piety School will not only be a series of lectures, but also an opportunity to reconsider the values of life and foster empathy between generations."

Mapo District is implementing various policies to promote the culture of filial piety. Representative examples include 'Filial Piety Meal Table,' which provides meals, welfare checks, and health monitoring for seniors aged 75 and older; 'Filial Piety Shared Living Senior Center,' where elderly people living alone can stay together and care for each other; 'Filial Piety Service Desk,' which helps prioritize administrative services for seniors aged 75 and older; and 'Filial Piety Leave,' a special leave program for Mapo District employees.

Mapo District plans to continue its efforts to foster a warm community centered on the value of filial piety.