Superintendent Lim Taehee: "Teachers Must Be Happy for Positive Energy to Reach Students"

Gyeonggi Office of Education Launches "Maeum 8787" and Ansimgol "TAC"
265 Teachers Received Individual Counseling and 850 Participated in Psychological Assessments in April
Social and Emotional-Based Psychological Recovery Program to Expand Provincewide

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Taehee) has presented its vision for comprehensive measures to protect educational activities as "Happy and safe schools for all members of the educational community through the protection of educational activities," and is actively working to protect teachers' educational activities.

Lim Taehee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, is talking with attendees after announcing the comprehensive measures to protect educational activities of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education on the 7th at Yeongheung Arboretum in Suwon. Provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education on May 7, these measures were established following the elementary school student death incident in Daejeon in February, which highlighted the importance of teachers' psychological well-being. Superintendent Lim Taehee stated, "We will improve psychological counseling procedures and expand healing support so that teachers can focus on education with peace of mind."

Accordingly, the Office launched a dedicated psychological counseling platform for teachers, "Maeum 8787," last month. This platform is an online website accessible only to teachers in the province via computer or mobile, where they can receive personal psychological assessments and request counseling. Notably, it also provides psychological assessment tools that anyone can use without user authentication, allowing teachers to easily check their mental health status.

In the first month of its launch, April, 265 teachers applied for individual counseling, which is more than six times the monthly average of the previous year. Additionally, 850 people participated in psychological assessments, demonstrating high interest.

In addition, the "Educational Activity Protection Ansimgol TAC" is being operated so that teachers can quickly receive support when experiencing infringement of educational activities, legal issues, or job stress. If a teacher who has been affected calls 1600-8787, they can receive all necessary support, including legal, administrative, and psychological assistance, in a one-stop manner. To date, a total of 502 counseling cases have been conducted. The counseling cases through Ansimgol TAC include 256 administrative consultations, 101 legal consultations, 99 consultations on infringement of educational activities, and 46 consultations on job stress, totaling 502 cases. By user, there were 376 cases from teachers, 72 from vice principals, and 13 from principals, with the majority of inquiries coming from teachers.

Meanwhile, the Suwon Office of Education (Director Kim Seonkyung) is actively implementing "Mind Care and Self-Growth Education" as a unique program for teachers' psychological recovery. "Mind Care and Self-Growth Education" is a social and emotional learning-based program that cares for teachers' minds through the linkage of the educational sector of schools, Gyeonggi Shared School, and Gyeonggi Online School. Through this, teachers are empowered to design their careers and lives as a driving force for self-growth.

The flagship program, "Journey to Discover Happiness," which was previously targeted at students, has been expanded to include teachers. Recently, a "Journey to Discover Happiness with Forest and Rest" training session was held at Yeongheung Arboretum and received a great response. The training consisted of themes such as "Finding Small Happiness," "Feeling the Freedom of Forgiveness," "Positive Self-Suggestion," and "Feeling Gratitude."

Going forward, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education plans to verify the effectiveness of these programs in cooperation with the "Social and Emotional Learning-Based Mind Care and Self-Growth Education Research Group" and expand them throughout schools in the province.

Superintendent Lim Taehee emphasized, "Teachers must be happy for positive energy to be delivered to students," adding, "We will further strengthen psychological support policies that encompass early diagnosis, prevention, and healing so that teachers can focus on education with peace of mind."