![]() |
NC Cultural Foundation Projectory is an area designated to help children enhance their free thinking and creativeness. / Courtesy of NC Cultural Foundation |
By Kim Hyun-bin
NC Cultural Foundation has opened a space dubbed the "Projectory" at Daehangno in Seoul to help children enhance their creative thinking skills. Projectory provides an environment and opportunities for children to challenge themselves through diverse projects and without fear of failing. This is part of NCSOFT's social contribution project that started in 2017 marking the 20th anniversary of its foundation.
Since 2018, the NC Cultural Foundation has been preparing for Projectory, receiving advice from experts and from prestigious universities including Stanford, RISD, Seoul National University and KAIST, and gathering data from diverse innovative firms in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world.
The company held trial runs in 2019 and the satisfaction rate was over 90 percent among the participants and their parents. Through the activities, participants gained confidence and their parents were in favor of their continued participation in the program.
The Projectory experience establishes a self-directed learning atmosphere without teachers or a curriculum. All activities need to be planned by the children and followed accordingly. There is no outside intervention or restrictions and they have the opportunity to attempt to do something that they have planned on their own. Respecting differences and maintaining a horizontal social structure no matter the age is a rule set for the area to maximize their creativity.
The area spans around 450 square meters within the NC Cultural Foundation building and is equipped with diverse sections including a meeting room, library, planning area, material and tools area, and a dubbing room with all areas accessible to children. There are over 150 tools that could be utilized for electronics, woodwork, art and music.
It is an area not just to support and expand children's creativity but also to broaden their areas of interest through diverse digital, analog and audiovisual materials, while holding periodic encounters and workshops with experts in their respective fields.
"Projectory exceeds the limits of thought and will help create a new future," an NC Cultural Foundation official said. "Projectory will grow with the children and I hope it can become a foundation to change our society and future generations and for them to play a leading role in achieving great innovation."