Dispatched 15-Member Delegation to Osaka for Joint Capstone Presentations
Expanding Practical Cooperation Through MOU with Senior IT Company
National Kyungkuk University (President Jung Taeju) has joined forces with Kinki University in Japan to officially embark on Korea-Japan cooperation in the field of age-friendly initiatives.
This marks the first time that National Kyungkuk University, which is working to establish the nation’s first “age-friendly campus” through the Gyeongbuk RISE project, has formalized an exchange channel with an overseas university. The move is significant in that it lays a practical foundation for cooperation with Japan in responding to a super-aged society.
A group of 15 trainees dispatched for Korea-Japan university students' joint capstone presentation expands industrial cooperation through MOU with senior IT companies
From January 13 to 18, the university dispatched a delegation of 15 members to Osaka, Japan, for a six-day overseas training program aimed at nurturing experts in the age-friendly industry.
Led by Lim Jinseop, Director of the Gyeongbuk Age-Friendly Campus (G-AFC) Center and Professor in the Department of Social Welfare Counseling, the participants collaborated with Kinki University students on a joint capstone design project in the age-friendly field and presented their findings locally.
Kinki University is one of the largest private comprehensive universities in Japan, with 15 colleges and 49 departments, and has ranked first nationwide in the number of applicants for 11 consecutive years. It has also been ranked as the top private university in western Japan by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The background to this bilateral cooperation is the rapidly accelerating aging population in both countries. Japan, with 29.4% of its population aged 65 or older, is the world’s most aged nation. South Korea, too, will enter a super-aged society in December 2024, making responses to aging a key national and regional agenda. During the visit, a Korea-Japan super-aged society roundtable was also held, where both countries shared their challenges, policies, and on-the-ground solutions.
The Japanese side also showed great interest in National Kyungkuk University’s age-friendly campus initiative. Kim Sangjun, Professor of Business Administration at Kinki University and the institution’s representative for this exchange, commented, “While there are efforts in Japan to address aging issues by leveraging university expertise and resources, it is rare to see an officially established age-friendly campus with both physical and institutional infrastructure, as is being done by National Kyungkuk University. This is a highly pioneering effort.”
The scope of cooperation has expanded beyond academic exchange to include industrial collaboration. The G-AFC Center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japanese senior IT company TWC Japan during this visit.
TWC Japan provides IT services and digital solutions for seniors, developing technologies to improve digital accessibility and quality of life for the elderly. Both parties plan to continue collaborating in the development of age-friendly digital environments and senior-customized IT services.
Nam Kwangsik, a third-year student in the Department of Child Social Welfare who participated in the program, said, “It was meaningful to discuss and present solutions to aging issues together with Japanese students. Seeing firsthand how Japan is dealing with a super-aged society gave me an opportunity to reflect on my future role.”
National Kyungkuk University envisions this exchange as the starting point for building an international network in the age-friendly campus field, with plans to expand into joint Korea-Japan research, talent development, and industry-academia cooperation models.
Meanwhile, National Kyungkuk University is currently creating the nation’s first age-friendly campus at its Yecheon campus, with remodeling of the center and related facilities underway. The opening is scheduled for the first half of 2026.
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