Chuncheon City and Hallym University Launch First Overseas Great Books Training for Teachers

January 8-17: On-site Training at St. John's College in Annapolis
Four Selected for Tutor Development Program, Participate in Seminars and Tutorials
Strengthening Chuncheon-Style Great Books Program with RISE Center

Chuncheon City in Gangwon Province (Mayor Yuk Donghan) and Hallym University (President Choi Yanghee) will send local teachers to the United States for training at St. John's College as part of the Great Books tutor training program. This marks the first time since the introduction of the Great Books program in Chuncheon that a local training session will be held at St. John's College, and it will be organized by the RISE Center of Hallym University.

Chuncheon City Hall exterior view.

The training will take place over 10 days, from January 8 to 17, with four teachers from the Chuncheon area participating. The trainees were selected as outstanding students from among those who attended the Great Books tutor training special lectures held in the second half of last year.

Participating teachers will observe regular classes at St. John's College, attend seminars and tutorials, and closely study the discussion-centered educational model. They will join Great Books seminars and graduate tutorials in a variety of fields, including mathematics classes covering Euclidean geometry, as well as literature, science, history, and music. They plan to analyze the methods for designing questions and the structure of non-directive discussion management.

Additionally, through meetings with local tutors at St. John's College, they will share insights on the college's educational philosophy and seminar management strategies, and discuss the applicability of these approaches to the Korean educational environment.

In addition to this training, the city is planning to dispatch St. John's College tutors to Chuncheon in May and June, and to hold a summer academy for teachers and high school students in July. By engaging in direct exchanges with St. John's College, the aim is to understand the essence and philosophy of Great Books education and to establish a foundation for implementing the program in local schools.

Chuncheon City has made the cultivation of outstanding professional tutors its top priority in order to establish the Great Books program as a leading local educational model. Since 2024, the city has been running tutor training seminars for teachers. At Chuncheon's request, Hallym University established and has been operating the Great Books Education Center, which is responsible for planning and operating the Chuncheon-style Great Books curriculum and developing the tutor certification program since last year.

A city official stated, "This training will be a new starting point for Great Books tutor development," adding, "We thank the Hallym University RISE Center for organizing the training, and we will continue our efforts to help Chuncheon become a 'thinking education city' through the Great Books program."