An Min-seok's 'Mobile Education Superintendent's Office' Makes First Stop in Hwaseong and Osan…Discussion on Education Office Separation

An Min-seok, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Province Education, held the first session of the 'Mobile Education Superintendent's Office' traveling through 31 cities and counties in the province on the 17th in Hwaseong and Osan, engaging directly with parents.

Superintendent An, together with Kim Young-gi, Superintendent of Hwaseong-Osan Education Support Office, and officials from Hwaseong Special City and Osan City, discussed high school credit system and university admission systems, teacher rights protection, and 'Phone-free and RAS (Reading, Arts, Sports) education' through advance questions and on-site Q&A; sessions.

In particular, he emphasized 'Phone-free and RAS education' aimed at reducing smartphone dependency and expanding reading, arts, and sports activities, proposing a direction to reduce field burden by linking regional culture and sports infrastructure with schools.

Regional issues in Hwaseong included composing a response team for supporting multicultural students, 'Exciting Baseball School' utilizing regional sports infrastructure, and strengthening specialized vocational education linked with local companies such as Hyundai, Kia Motors, and Samsung Electronics. He also confirmed the need for special schools and complex special classrooms and promised to expand them.

At the afternoon town hall meeting, Osan Mayor Jo Yong-ho also attended and explained road expansion plans to create safe school commute environments, announcing that a joint task force would operate between the education support office and local governments to address overcrowding in new cities and revitalization of old downtown areas.

He promised to resolve overcrowded classrooms through the establishment of middle schools in the Segyo District and middle schools in the Busan-dong and Won-dong areas. Superintendent An stated, "The answer to education lies in the field," emphasizing the need for policy formulation that solves educational issues in the field based on practical investigation.

Regarding the separation of education support offices, he explained plans to implement them starting in September next year, expressing his hope that Hwaseong and Osan would be separated prioritously.

Superintendent An emphasized the importance of the parent role, stating that parents are precious partners in education policy, and said he would actively support parent meetings to jointly consider and discuss directions for Gyeonggi Province education.

To resolve overcrowded schools in the two areas, ways to secure educational space through school construction and utilization of regional education and public facilities through local government cooperation were also discussed.

Osan Mayor Jo Yong-ho emphasized active cooperation in improving school commute conditions for student safety and breaking down barriers for educational cooperation with local governments.

Education Superintendent Kim Young-gi stated, "We will actively cooperate with local governments, businesses, and the community, and create changes that students can feel."