Questions/Answers

The zeal for children’s education is extremely high in the Republic of Korea and most children receive private education in the forms of private institutes and lessons. However, low-income families cannot afford it. This situation causes a vicious cycle: Parents’ fortune determines children’s educational background which decides their jobs, and it causes a gap between the rich and the poor once again. Children from low-income families have no choice but to continue living in the low-income bracket, where poverty gets passed down to the next generation. With the goal of providing more educational opportunities for low-income families, the Seodaemun-gu Office planned a public-private cooperative education project utilizing its HR infrastructure. Seodaemun-gu has nine universities, which is a very high number compared to other regions. Based on such merits, Seodaemun-gu drew up an education support program for low-income families in which students attending universities in Seodaemun-gu voluntarily participate in the form of talent donation. Seodaemun-gu finds youths from low-income families who want to join the mentoring program and recruits college students who are willing to donate their talents by serving as mentors. College students and youths from low-income families are matched on a one-on-one basis.

Seodaemun-gu planned this program based on partnership among stakeholders including universities, students, and the local government. The zeal for education is extremely high and most children receive private education in forms of private institutes. As those in the low-income bracket cannot afford to receive such education, it causes a gap in education and consequently affects children’s future. This initiative provides quality education for the underprivileged by utilizing talents volunteered from those in nearby universities. Considering the public effects of education, the program is an innovative idea that provides more educational opportunities for the low-income bracket and enhances social equality.

The purpose of the mentoring program is to improve the academic abilities of students from low-income families through the mentoring program. Based on its local HR infrastructure, the Seodaemun-gu Office drew up an education support program for low-income families and established a system to provide quality education for the underprivileged in order to increase educational opportunities for low-income families. This program is greatly contributing to reducing inequalities by preventing a vicious cycle where the parents’ fortune determines children’s educational background, which again leads to creation of gaps in jobs and properties.

One of the driving forces of growth in the Republic of Korea is the shared passion for education. It is also a key for individuals to improve their social status. The program was planned to resolve a social issue that educational opportunities were distributed depending on parents’ fortune. This innovative program is Korea’s first policy to provide quality educational opportunities for the underprivileged by recognizing and utilizing the voluntary services of outstanding students of nearby prestigious universities as local infrastructure.

Many public-private cooperative initiatives could not be maintained for a long period of time since stakeholders often pursued different goals. Seodaemun-gu Office is proving that all stakeholders can benefit from a public-private cooperative initiative. Despite its difficult launch in the beginning where we had to persuade the presidents of the universities in person into participating in the initiative, many universities are now carrying out a variety of PR activities in order to continue the initiative. This initiative may be adapted for other countries or regions if they establish a system for talent donations based on local HR infrastructure.

The most important element of the business initiative is human resources. Seodaemun-gu Office needed to secure college students with outstanding scholastic performance and great personality for this mentoring program. It was relatively easy to secure such mentors since Seodaemun-gu is home to several prestigious universities. The universities selected students who would participate in the initiative through thorough verification, and selected students completed basic training to serve as mentors.

○ The mayor’s will to improve the educational equality by utilizing the HR infrastructure of the community ○ Provision of space and financial support including school supplies expenses and scholarships - Although the mentoring program is based on talent donations, Seodaemun-gu Office draws up a budget for school supplies expenses in order to support students from low-income families in a practical way. In addition, Seodaemun-gu Office provides study rooms for the initiative to take care of the location issue which helps with stable operation of the program every year. ○ Emphasis on proactive PR and effectiveness of the program - The greatest achievement of the mentoring program is that students from low-income families who participated in the program greatly improved their grades in school. About 70% of the students improved their grades in at least one subject among the target subjects (English and Mathematics). It is expected that the initiative can be consistently operated as a successful case, by publicly promoting its effects and encouraging mentors and mentees to continue participating in the initiative based on their interests.

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To manage the initiative systematically, we introduced the Supervisor System and are monitoring the entire process. A graduate student is assigned as a supervisor to oversee 10 to 15 college students. Mentors report their talent donation activities to their supervisors every month and supervisors manage their mentors' activities.

We are managing mentees’ English and math grades through a quantitative evaluation and measuring improvements in their grades by school. In addition, we are separately managing cases where mentees improve their grades dramatically.

Mentees’ grades improved by about 70%, and the number of participating college students in the initiative is increasing consistently. In addition, participating universities are establishing a variety of incentive policies such as scholarships in order to vitalize talent donations.

Youths from low-income families are the direct beneficiaries of the initiative. Not only can mentees receive education for free, but they now have a stepping stone on which they can develop in the right direction with the help of their mentors, without getting lost as adolescents who are going through a stormy period in life. In addition, college students feel rewarded through talent donation activities and social contribution to the community. Based on such experiences, they become more interested in volunteer work and end up contributing to the development of society as a whole. As main agents of the initiative, Seodaemun-gu Office and universities have greatly contributed to the stabilization and development of community. Through this initiative, Seodaemun-gu is transforming into a city that is increasingly becoming a better place to live in. Though only nearby universities participated in the initiative in the beginning stage, the initiative is expanding to include participation of private education organizations and contributing to the cultural development of sharing of talent.

The Education Support Project for Youths from Low-Income Families of Seodaemun-gu Office may become a good example of public-private cooperative projects. We learned from social contribution activities utilizing human resources of universities that we could realize welfare with private capital. We are expecting that students who are receiving educational welfare benefits will remember the talent donations that they received in the past and participate in such activities as they grow up. In other words, the vicious cycle of poverty will be broken and mentees will inherit the gift of social contribution instead.