"Education for People" ... 3,000 Gather at Kim Yongtae's Book Launch Event

Education, Politics, and Civil Society Gather Together
Classroom Revolution, Equal Learning
Vision for Future-Oriented Learning Environments

The question of what it means to educate people as human beings converged in Gwangju. Centered around a single book, the event hall was filled with citizens reflecting on their firsthand experiences and the direction of education.

Citizens gathered in full at the Kim Yongtae book launch event held on the 6th at the Oryong Hall of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.

According to the local education community on December 7, the book launch event for "Kim Yongtae's Education for People" was held at 3 p.m. the previous day at Oryong Hall of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, with approximately 3,000 citizens in attendance. Participants included students, parents, young people, as well as figures from the education sector, politics, and civil society.

Among those who attended in person to offer congratulations were National Assembly members Min Hyungbae (Gwangsan-eul) and Jung Junho (Buk-gap), Moon In, Mayor of Buk-gu, Kim Byungnae, Mayor of Nam-gu, Kang Un-tae, former Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jang Hui-guk, former Gwangju Superintendent of Education, Yoon Gwangjang, former Chairman of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Park Seong-bae, President of the Gwangju Silver Chamgyosa Association, Park Sam-won, Chairman of the Gwangju Teachers' Union, and Jang Kwan-ho, former Head of the Jeonnam Branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union.

Video messages of congratulations expressing support for the book's message and Kim Yongtae's educational philosophy were delivered by Kang Gi-jung, Mayor of Gwangju, National Assembly members Jeong Jinwook (Dongnam-gap), Jo Incheol (Seo-gap), Yang Bunam (Seo-eul), and Jeon Jinsook (Buk-eul), Lee Byunghoon, Senior Vice Chairperson of the Democratic Party's Honam Development Special Committee, Kim Jooeop, Chairperson of the Progressive Party's Gwangju City Committee, and actor Kang Donggyun, a first graduate of Gwangju Electronic Technical High School.

In his greeting, Kim Yongtae, former Head of the Civil School at the Gwangju Regional Committee of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, emphasized, "In education, people come before technology, and it starts with believing in human potential," presenting the core value of "education for people."

Former Principal Kim Yongtae is delivering a greeting on stage.

He cited the main directions for education in Gwangju as follows: a classroom revolution based on teachers' educational sovereignty, students' learning rights, and community participation; equal learning that opens the future through effort and ability rather than parental background; building a future-oriented learning environment for a people-centered digital transformation; and developing Gwangju-style democratic citizenship education that grows through memory, debate, and practice.

Kim Yongtae stressed, "Equal opportunities for learning and a confident future are not just declarations, but matters of practice," and stated his intention to continue reflecting on the direction of education in Gwangju through ongoing communication with schools, parents, and citizens.

Kim Yongtae was born in 1964 in Sonbul-myeon, Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do. He attended Kumho High School and studied physics education at Chonnam National University (class of '82). He served as president of the Chonnam National University Club Union and was expelled for organizing protests to uncover the truth about the May 18 Democratization Movement, later graduating from the Department of Physics Education in 1994. In 1996, he was appointed as a teacher at Gwangju Electronic Technical High School and worked at Jeonnam Technical High School and Gwangju High School. He also served as secretary of the Gwangju Office of Education's Special Committee for the Public Education of the May 18 Democratization Movement, head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, co-representative of the Gwangju Education Hope Network, co-representative of the Youth Labor Human Rights Network, head of the Civil School at the Gwangju Regional Committee of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, policy adviser to the Ministry of Education, member of the Gwangju Office of Education's Education Development Advisory Committee, and principal of Gwangju Electronic Technical High School.