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Financial musical 'U-Turn' gains popularity
Actors and actresses perform in the musical “U-Turn” at Munhyeon Middle School in Songpa, Seoul, Oct. 10. Courtesy of Korea Federation of Banks
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
“U-Turn,” an educational musical designed to enhance understanding of financial issues for middle school students, is gaining popularity among teenagers.
The musical, jointly produced in 2016 by the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) and Financial Education Council (FEC), has been performed at about 200 schools nationwide.
The success is largely attributable to a tightly woven storyline written in plain, easy language. It is about a lead character struggling to repay loans who returns to his middle school years to learn about the importance of organizing his priorities to maintain a healthy and responsible management of personal finances.
Through the personal experience of the main character named Han Tae-man ― with Tae-man being a Korean word for delinquency ― the audience is able to understand financial terms and their basic concepts as well as the risks of mindless, dangerous financial habits that will certainly develop into big problems.
The terms include delinquency, credit default, saving money whether it be lump sum or for short-term use for regular expenses, as well as the need to refrain from impulsive buying.
The musical is also designed to encourage audiences to pursue jobs in the financial industry, an option rarely considered by students unless recommended by figures with hands-on experience or background knowledge.
“We have heard many students began taking interest in exploring their future in the financial industry, which is often thought of as difficult, complicated and simply hard to understand,” a KFB official said.
“We are heartened by the success of the musical which we feel through much appreciation expressed by teachers, students and their parents. We will continue to organize the program in 2019 for schools that request the performance.”
The KFB upon request from schools sends the performance crew, with priorities given to schools in remote, rural areas over those in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi area.
This is to help guarantee fairness in experiencing cultural events for students in areas with relatively limited access to such performances or education opportunities compared to those living in metropolitan areas.
The musical is among many programs introduced by the FEC and various related organizations to help meet the demand for early finance education.
The FEC launched “The Lost City,” a virtual reality (VR) technology-based group game.
Players in a group visit state-run financial services organizations to experience the inner workings of the sector including taking out loans, paying interest as well as how victims of financial crimes can seek government help.
The program is also in line with government efforts to boost the public's financial knowledge.
According to a study on the public's understanding of financial issues conducted jointly by the Bank of Korea and Financial Supervisory Service in 2016, the country scored 66.2 point out of 100, falling short of 66.7 points, the minimum requirement set by the OECD.