The Seoul Metropolitan Government has confirmed that its education reform policy called “Seoul Learn”—an initiative aimed at supporting disadvantaged students aged 6 to 24 residing in Seoul—exerted upbeat impacts not only in college entrance and grade improvement, but also in career development, employment and attitude changes.

As one of the four policies targeted at the lower echelon under the “social inclusion with the disadvantaged” movement, Seoul Learn is a policy organized to provide students who cannot afford to get access to educational resources on the ground of socioeconomic circumstances with free high-quality online educational contents through a public platform. As a result of studying cases of taking advantage of the Seoul Learn policy garnered from an open written contest and students who had received career counseling, 462 out of 626 beneficiaries of the policy—which accounts for 74 percent—succeeded in entering universities after taking the state-run College Scholastic Ability Test in November last year.

First of all, most of the beneficiaries responded that the policy helped them succeed in passing college entrance exams. The policy has proven its efficiency by focusing on universities’ special vetting processes based on customized career counseling, according to Seoul. Moreover, the policy has assisted single-parent families in overcoming financial troubles. The policy recipients who passed college exams stated that they were able to benefit greatly from a slew of high-quality and unlimited online lectures free of charge.

Secondly, according to the study, there were cases where students were able to determine their career paths while taking the Seoul Learn programs and students who had a do-over on learning after giving it up due to family reasons. Besides these learning benefits , Seoul Learn has emboldened youths with positive attitudes toward life. In detail, the study reveals cases of getting jobs they dreamed of, reattempting to study after giving up for certain reasons, getting interests and self-confidence in studying, and developing self-directed learning habits through mentoring.

Lastly, the study shows the growing number of the policy beneficiaries volunteering for mentoring juniors because they wanted to give back to the community. Seoul highly anticipates that such a rise in the number will help younger students improve their academic performance as well as build good character.

In line with the positive progress and effects of Seoul Learn, Seoul said it is slated to push forward with the policy through systematic assistance so that underprivileged youths can fulfill their dreams.

Seoul Learn website: slearn.seoul.go.kr/front/mainView.do