Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Shinhan to launch education center
Children look at an information leaflet on banking services with a Shinhan Bank employee during the bank’s economy education program at a branch in central Seoul on June 29. / Courtesy of Shinhan Bank
By Kim Rahn
By Kim Rahn
Many banks offer economic and financial educational programs to children based on their knowhow of the sector.
Shinhan Bank is leading the way. Besides regular programs that already take place at the bank’s branches, Shinhan will soon open a center exclusively for education.
For the first center, the bank is remodeling the second floor of the Shinhan Museum, located near Gwanghwamun Station in central Seoul which is dedicated to the nation’s financial history. In the center there will be a mock branch of the bank set up, along with a lecture room. The bank plans to set up additional centers.
At the center, kindergarteners and elementary schoolchildren will be able to learn how they can use financial services, while middle and high school students who hope to land a job at a financial company can undergo vocational training.
The establishment of the center is in line with an agreement which Shinhan Bank signed with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education earlier last month regarding “education donation.”
Under the agreement, middle school first graders will have a chance to visit the bank’s branches in Seoul and see how banking services are offered. At the newly built center, they will be allowed to experience a banker’s job.
Shinhan’s financial education programs started in June last year with the aim of contributing to the society by sharing the knowledge of staffers.
With fourth to sixth graders of elementary schools being major participants, various mock financial activities are offered at three branches.
“Instead of just listening to lectures, the participating students can experience financial transactions by consulting bank clerks. They carry out various tasks, such as opening bank accounts, exchanging foreign currency, having a check card issued, applying for an insurance policy and trading stocks,” a bank official said.
In the bank mission, the students open accounts and learn which types of account and installments are most suitable for them. They also learn about the benefits of various types of cards and about how to exchange different currencies.
On a mock stock market, stock prices change every 30 minutes, and children attempt to make as large a profit as possible by trading stocks. They also learn why they need insurance and how to select the policy best suited to them.
While the students are participating in the activities, their parents have a separate lecture on how to teach finance to the children, such as pocket money management.
The programs are held every Saturday. They are very popular, and applications for a total quota of 35 children per session are closed two minutes after they begin.
Besides the programs, Shinhan provides basic economy lectures to North Korean defectors and financial education to child residents at welfare facilities.