Busan Office of Education Achieves Most Awards Nationwide at School Meal Best Practices Contest

Triple Crown Including Minister of Education Award
Safe, Nutritious, and Educational Meal Model in the Spotlight

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kim Seokjun) achieved the highest number of awards nationwide by winning the Excellence Award (Minister of Education Award) at the "2025 School Meal Best Practices Contest," hosted by the Ministry of Education and organized by the Korea Institute for Educational Environment Protection.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 16th that it received one Excellence Award and two Encouragement Awards at this contest, securing a total of three awards out of twelve categories-the highest number of awards among all participants.

The School Meal Best Practices Contest is an annual event held by the Ministry of Education to discover outstanding examples of school meal operations and to disseminate these practices throughout educational sites nationwide. The contest is open to faculty and staff at elementary, middle, high, and special schools, as well as city and provincial offices of education and education support offices across the country.

The case that won the Excellence Award was submitted by the Secondary School Meal Recipe Research Group, consisting of ten members including nutritionist Lee Hyunju from Sanghak Elementary School in Manduk-dong, Buk-gu, Busan. Under the theme "ZERO Cooking Fumes! Safe School Meals, Proposing Future School Meal Standards through Activation of Oven Cooking," the group was highly praised for its efforts to reduce harmful substances generated during the cooking process and for improving cooking methods that consider safety, nutrition, and student preferences.

Two cases received the Encouragement Award. The School Nutrition Counseling and Education Research Group, with ten participants including nutrition teacher Lee Sunghye from Yangdeok Elementary School in Deokcheon-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, was recognized for its case on "Implementation through Student-Customized Nutrition Counseling and Education." In addition, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education received another Encouragement Award for its case on "Supporting Nutrition Education through a Free Nutrition Class Sharing Project."

The Ministry of Education plans to compile the award-winning cases from the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education and others into a booklet, distribute it to offices of education and schools nationwide, and use it as a reference to improve school meal operations and expand nutrition and dietary education.

Kim Seokjun, Superintendent of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "This award is especially meaningful as it recognizes achievements not only in meal operations but also in the overall educational functions of school meals, including nutrition education and counseling. We will continue to support the healthy and happy growth of students by strengthening the educational role of school meal operations and implementing robust nutrition and dietary education policies."

At the "2025 Ministry of Education Best Practices Contest for Early Childhood Meal Services," the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education’s Itinerant Nutrition Teacher Team received the President’s Award from the Korea Institute for Educational Environment Protection for its "Learning Together, Building Together: Our Children's Eating Habits L.E.G.O. Project," which was selected as an outstanding case for supporting meal management at small private kindergartens.