Preliminary Gyeongnam Education Superintendent Candidate Kwon Sungki Holds Forum on Character Education

Inviting Youth and School Experts for a Forum on
"Diagnosing the Reality of Schools and the Direction of Future Education"

Kwon Sungki, the single candidate of the "Conservative and Centrist Gyeongnam Superintendent Unification Alliance" and a preliminary candidate for superintendent of education in South Gyeongsang Province, held a forum at his campaign office in Uichang-gu under the theme of "Diagnosing the Reality of Schools and the Direction of Future Education," inviting youth and school experts.

Kwon Sungki, a preliminary candidate for Superintendent of Education of South Gyeongsang Province, is holding a forum at his campaign office.

This forum placed emphasis on the fact that parents' greatest concern is character education for their children, and it was organized to flesh out policy details following Kwon's policy announcement press conference on February 23, where he unveiled the "Gyeongnam-style Change Character Education" initiative.

Five experts, including Director Kang Bonghee of the Yedam Art Therapy Character Development Research Institute, who participated in the forum, argued that "to put it a bit bluntly, the situation can be described as a 'collapse of schools,' to the extent that children are not feeling happiness at school."

They stressed that, in order to restore trust in public education by creating schools and classrooms where children are happy, it is urgent to first make efforts to lower the barriers between schools and local communities.

They also said that no matter how good the educational programs and facilities are, if accessibility for teenagers is low, it becomes inefficient, and therefore oversight functions such as follow-up inspections must be strengthened so that education can be delivered effectively.

For example, although various facilities such as youth training centers have been established in each city and province, the people who use them the most are in fact seniors, due to reasons such as a lack of accessibility for young people.

Regarding AI education, they added, "When we counsel students, it seems that the existing generation and students have different ideas about what AI education means," and "children are not seeking learning itself through AI education, but rather information."

Preliminary candidate Kwon said, "It is shocking to realize that distrust of public education has deepened to the point where parents regard the situation as a 'collapse of schools,'" adding, "I will work to incorporate the alternatives proposed at this forum into character education policies and related measures."