Some 50 Former Students from Daejeon Science High, Dongsin High, and Gwaijeong High Declare Support for Oh Seokjin

Support for Their Teacher's Bid to Become Daejeon Superintendent of Education

Oh Seokjin: "My educational conviction is firm: rather than teaching techniques to win in competition, we must cultivate the strength to live as decent human beings"

Photo provided by Oh Seokjin's campaign

Some 50 young former high school students of Daejeon Superintendent of Education preliminary candidate Oh Seokjin have declared their support to help their former teacher win the Daejeon superintendent race.

Among the eight middle and high schools where preliminary candidate Oh Seokjin served, about 50 former students from Daejeon Science High School, Daejeon Gwaijeong High School, and Dongsin High School visited his campaign office in Yongmun-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, on Saturday the 22nd to join in a declaration of support for their teacher's victory.

This declaration of support for their teacher is the first among preliminary candidates running for superintendent of education in Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province. These young former students used their day off from work to visit him, and for most of them it was the first time meeting their teacher since graduation, during which they shared warm conversations about episodes from their English classes and other memories from their teacher-student days.

Former student Kim Heeyoon said, "While I was in school, Teacher Oh Seokjin did not simply stress studying unconditionally. I was deeply moved by his educational philosophy that we should find what we are good at and develop it," adding, "I was able to succeed because he recognized my strengths and supported me so that I could build on them. I will pray that he will definitely be elected."

Another former student, Kim Seo-eun, said, "When I told him during school that his English classes were fun, he said, 'Then you should do what you are good at and interested in.' Because of those words, I entered the Department of English Education to become an English teacher like him. I was also deeply impressed by his message that people come before grades, and I decided to join this declaration of support in the hope that he will be elected and nurture students like me."

Candidate Oh Seokjin said, "Thank you to all of you who contacted one another and came here in such numbers," and emphasized, "Just as I stressed when you were in high school, my educational conviction has not changed: rather than focusing on how to raise a child who simply gets good grades, we must raise children who can get back up even when they fall, and rather than teaching techniques to win in competition, we must cultivate the strength to live as decent human beings."

He went on to say, "Under the slogan of 'Five-Sense Satisfaction Daejeon Education,' I will not let you down. By improving learning outcomes, ensuring school safety, enhancing school welfare, realizing free AI education, and building a citizen-participatory educational policy platform, I will strive to satisfy both the educational community and the citizens of Daejeon."

Meanwhile, candidate Oh Seokjin's election campaign committee plans to hold the "Inaugural Ceremony of the Election Committee for Preliminary Candidate Oh Seokjin" on the afternoon of March 14, which marks D-80 until the June 3 local elections for Daejeon superintendent of education. Following the "Publication Commemoration Event" and the "Opening Ceremony of the Campaign Office," they intend to further accelerate the expansion of support.

In addition, once the official registration for Daejeon superintendent of education candidates is completed on May 14, they plan to hold a large-scale kick-off rally and to conduct official election campaigning centered on regional leaders in charge of each area.

Preliminary candidate Oh Seokjin attended Gongju High School as the top entrant and studied in the Department of English Education at Gongju National Teachers College. He later earned a Ph.D. in English Education from the Graduate School of Korea National University of Education. He has authored two certified middle school English textbooks for grades 1, 2, and 3 (as a co-author) and published the book "Theory and Practice of Teaching Profession."