Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Inaugural glocal education fair to take place in South Jeolla Province
The view of the exhibition venue in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, where the Korea Glocal Education Fair 2024 will take place / Courtesy of South Jeolla Province Office of Education
By Jung Da-hyun
Event shows glimpse into future education
The inaugural Korea Glocal Education Fair is set to take place over five days, from May 29 to June 2, in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The event aims to foster discussions on future education policies, share global examples about education and address education's evolving challenges and directions in the digital era.
Glocal, a combination of the words global and local, highlights the importance of regional characteristics in globalization. The fair is dedicated to exploring glocal education, representing a new educational paradigm amid the age of digital transformation.
Organized by the Ministry of Education, South Jeolla Province, the South Jeolla Province Office of Education and the North Gyeongsang Province Office of Education, the fair marks the country's first such event. It will showcase sustainable and regionally oriented educational paradigms for the digital era.
Under the all-encompassing theme of Symbiosis in Education and a Sustainable Future, the fair will host a variety of programs. These include lectures from international scholars, an exhibition on future education, the operation of glocal future classes, cultural and artistic exchanges and a future education festival.
A poster of the Korea Glocal Education Fair 2024 / Courtesy of South Jeolla Province Office of Education
On May 29, the opening day of the fair, the Korea-OECD International Seminar, organized by the education ministry and the Korea Education Development Institute, will take place to enhance cooperation and share insights on future education.
Throughout the fair, attendees will be engaged in discussions on glocal and future education through a series of lectures, conferences and seminars.
Speakers who are distinguished in the education field, such as Paul Kim from the Stanford Graduate School of Education and Thomas Frey, an American futurist and celebrity speaker, will give talks.
A total of 13 countries, including Turkey, Australia, Canada, the Philippines and Germany, will participate, sharing their policies on future education and discussing its overall direction.
The exhibition will feature booths from over 25 countries, such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Norway and Australia, as well as Korea’s education ministry and 17 provincial offices of education, allowing participants to explore education-focused agendas like climate and environmental issues and technology use in education.
Leading technology firms like Google, Microsoft, Naver, Apple, Nexon, Intel and NHN will also take part in the event, showcasing the latest technologies applicable to education. Companies will also showcase practical applications of their technologies in education by setting up class spaces.
A conceptual image of a classroom, which will be featured at the fair / Courtesy of South Jeolla Province Office of Education
In particular, future classrooms of 2030 will be featured, showing real-life classes for elementary, middle and high school students over four-hour sessions each day, providing a glimpse into the future of education.
Teachers from South Jeolla Province are actively volunteering to develop curricula and instructional models, shaping the content for these futuristic classrooms.
Moreover, the fair will facilitate global cultural and artistic exchanges among international and domestic students through various means. K-pop performances, orchestral and musical presentations will take place during the fair.
Students will have a chance to communicate by participating in various programs such as open talks on jobs and careers in different countries and booths for experiencing traditional cultures will enable further communication among students.
A future education festival, featuring scientific experiments and an IT program development contest, will also be part of the fair's offerings.
"The fair is expected to draw participation from a diverse array of countries and numerous glocal companies, fostering in-depth discussions on glocal education," said a fair official, underscoring the widespread anticipation and interest in the event.
Booth applications and visitor pre-registration will open in early April. Further details are available on the official website of the Korea Global Education Fair 2024.