Siheung City in Gyeonggi Province is drawing attention for establishing a lifelong learning platform that serves not only local citizens but also foreign residents.
According to Siheung City on September 17, the city has established four core strategies to strengthen its lifelong learning platform, 'Siheung Education Campus SSOC.' These strategies are: guaranteeing lifelong learning rights for citizens; providing a wide range of specialized educational content; operating differentiated, customized learning programs; and integrating the management of online media channels.
The city aims to expand citizens' learning rights and realize its vision as an educational city by providing an environment where anyone can learn anytime and anywhere.
The video learning page of 'Siheung Education Campus SSOC,' Siheung City's lifelong education platform. Provided by Siheung City
Lifelong Learning Embracing Foreign Residents
The city is diversifying learning formats and linking online platforms to create an environment where anyone can learn at their fingertips.
In particular, starting this year, the city launched free Korean language and cultural education services in collaboration with Sejong Institute to serve the growing number of foreign residents each year. These programs support not only the language skills needed for daily life but also cultural understanding essential for adapting to Korean society.
Recently, in partnership with the National Institute for Lifelong Education, the city has enabled all citizens to take 'K-MOOC' university-level specialized courses free of charge. 'K-MOOC' is an online open course platform provided by major domestic universities and research institutes, offering content in diverse fields such as special education, microlearning, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technology.
Through these efforts, the city aims to help foreign residents settle stably while providing all citizens with high-quality learning opportunities, moving toward becoming an inclusive and sustainable lifelong learning city.
Building Future Skills with AI, New Technology Job Training, and Convergence Education
The AI video learning series operated by 'Siheung Education Campus SSOC' is so popular that more than 300 people participate in real time for each session. Specialized video lectures in areas such as speech, Notion, and book writing are also consistently popular.
High-quality video content is also cited as a key factor in this popularity. Notable examples include a promotional video commemorating the 30th anniversary of Lake Sihwa, youth gambling prevention content produced in collaboration with the Siheung Police Station, and a video commemorating the March 1st Movement created through a partnership with Seoul National University. These are recognized as signature content that reflects the unique characteristics of the region.
The city plans to provide systematic education tailored to learners' levels and needs by operating step-by-step courses focusing on five key areas: AI, speech, book writing, new technology job training, and convergence education. Through this, the city aims to complete a specialized video learning system that fosters future-ready skills by next year.
Enhancing Accessibility through Online Media Integration
Test Drive Education Campus Ssok, which enhances educational accessibility by unifying media across the website, KakaoTalk, and YouTube. Provided by Siheung City
To improve citizens' access to lifelong learning, the city has integrated online media channels that were previously managed separately and redundantly by different departments. Now, citizens can conveniently find a variety of educational information at a glance through the Siheung Education Campus website and KakaoTalk channel, without having to visit each institution's website individually.
In addition, YouTube channels that were previously managed separately-such as Siheung Academy, TheSSEN, and Human Book-have also been integrated into the 'Siheung City Lifelong Education Center' channel.
Cho Hyeok, Director of the Siheung City Lifelong Learning Center, said, "Integrating online media not only enhances citizens' access to learning but also improves administrative efficiency," adding, "We will continue to innovate so that citizens can enjoy learning opportunities easily and conveniently anytime, anywhere."
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