Gangwon Provincial Office of Education to Implement Comprehensive Measures to Strengthen Student Safety
Upgrading Safety Experience Centers with Practical, Real-World Training Facilities
Enhancing School Commute Notification Service for Lower-Grade Elementary Students
The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education will strengthen the operation of safety experience facilities in the province and further reinforce safety management for school routes outside school in 2026 to enhance student safety. It plans to expand hands-on safety education while simultaneously conducting on-site inspections of school commute routes and improving safety infrastructure, thereby extending student safety both inside and outside schools.
Currently, the province operates one mobile safety experience vehicle (Jeongseon Fire Station), three classroom-type safety experience centers (Gangneung Chodang Elementary School, Samcheok Jeongra Elementary School, and the Safety Experience Center at the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education Student Training Institute), and one small-scale safety experience center (Wonju Fire Station 119 Safety Experience Village). A total of 9,085 people participated in all safety experience facilities during 2025. Each facility runs experience programs focusing on disaster and daily-life safety areas such as earthquakes, fires, evacuation safety, traffic safety, and first aid, and provides field-oriented education tailored to the needs of schools.
This year, the provincial office of education will concentrate its support in particular on upgrading the Safety Experience Center at the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education Student Training Institute. It plans to conduct a detailed safety inspection of all experience facilities, expand practical training facilities such as a rooftop-type outdoor emergency descent device, a river and valley flooding rescue training site, and a first aid classroom, and thereby strengthen disaster response capabilities. In addition, it will provide stable support for operating and facility expenses to raise the qualitative level of the experience facilities to a higher stage.
At the same time, new budget will be allocated to improve the facilities and update the content of the small-scale safety experience center (Wonju Fire Station 119 Safety Experience Village). Since its opening in May 2023, this facility has recorded a cumulative 12,986 users and a usage rate of over 86% among students in the province, establishing itself as a leading venue for daily-life-oriented safety education. The provincial office of education plans to comprehensively upgrade the experience content by improving the water fire extinguisher training station, updating the hands-on quiz program, and reinforcing the electric fire experience kit, thereby creating a more realistic and engaging educational environment. Through this, it will help students directly experience risk factors in everyday life and naturally internalize safety rules.
In addition, a school commute notification service will be provided for first to third grade elementary school students. By sending text messages to guardians to inform them whether their children have arrived at or left school, the service will enable quick confirmation of commuting status, reduce parents' anxiety, and further strengthen student safety. In particular, because the care and confirmation of guardians are especially important for lower-grade students, the initiative will focus on establishing a more systematic foundation for managing school commutes. It is expected to alleviate the burden of commute management on schools and contribute to creating an educational environment in which parents can feel reassured.
The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education plans to extend student safety both inside and outside schools by qualitatively upgrading hands-on safety education and strengthening safety management in all aspects of daily life, including school commutes.
Kim Myungbok, Head of the Safety and Welfare Division, said, "Safety that students learn through their own bodies becomes the strongest power in a crisis," adding, "We will enhance the substance of the experiential infrastructure and build a practical safety environment in cooperation with the local community."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
