Seoul Learn expands to 170,000 students; Oh Se-hoon calls it 'ladder out of poverty'

Seoul's flagship education welfare program, Seoul Learn, is set for its biggest expansion yet. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will lower eligibility thresholds and broaden the program's reach starting late next month, growing the potential beneficiary pool from roughly 120,000 to about 170,000 — an increase of 50,000 students.

Seoul Learn, a centerpiece of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's "walking with the vulnerable" governing philosophy, was designed to level an uneven playing field by guaranteeing fair opportunity regardless of economic background. The city completed consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on changes to the social security system and will begin the expanded rollout in late July — the first step toward a campaign pledge to extend eligibility to households in the bottom 70 percent of the income distribution.

Under the revised criteria, the income threshold rises from 60 percent of median household income to 80 percent. Newly eligible groups include children from multi-child households, children using community child centers, grandchildren of national veterans, and residents of single-parent family welfare facilities.

The changes will push total enrollment capacity from about 117,000 to roughly 168,000, a gain of approximately 52,000. The city said the expansion goes beyond raw numbers, filling gaps in education welfare that had left many young people outside the system. The new income threshold also aligns Seoul Learn with the free-pass program for after-school classes run by the city's education office, strengthening coordination across welfare policies and building a broader educational safety net for at-risk youth.

The expansion also reflects broader social priorities — addressing the low birth rate, honoring veterans' families, and supporting vulnerable groups. Benefits previously limited to children at select community child centers will now cover all such centers citywide, and residents of single-parent family welfare facilities who struggle with financial independence will also be brought into the program.

Newly eligible students will be able to choose up to eight online learning platforms, including Megastudy, Etoos, Daesungmymac and Milk-T. Beyond academic content, participants will have access to career exploration programs, arts and physical education courses developed with universities, communication workshops, AI and digital skills training, and career mentoring for young adults entering the workforce.

The city said Seoul Learn has moved well beyond basic education support, demonstrating measurable gains in learning ability, academic attitude, college admissions and employment. Users' learning competency scores rose from 75 points in 2022 to 83 in 2025, while learning attitude scores climbed from 75 to 85 over the same period. High school users improved their grade-point averages by 0.36 grade levels. This year, 914 Seoul Learn users gained university admission — a record high — including 76 accepted into medical and pharmaceutical programs, up 21 percent from the previous year.

The number of users who found employment more than tripled year-on-year to 75. Of those, 78.7 percent said Seoul Learn helped them secure a job, and 95 percent of both university admittees and new employees said they would recommend the program to others.

Seoul Learn is now positioning itself as a national model for education welfare. The city is partnering with seven regional and local governments, including those in North Chungcheong Province, Incheon and Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province, while 71 local governments across the country are either considering adopting the program or have inquired about its operational know-how.

To mark the expansion, the city plans to hold a potted-plant giveaway next month at the Seoul Learn Garden inside Seoul Forest, where the 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo is under way, and will run a celebratory comment event on the Seoul Learn website.

"Seoul Learn is not simply an education support project — it is a ladder designed to build a society where poverty is not passed down from generation to generation," Mayor Oh said. "Seoul will stand behind every child so that their starting point in life is not determined by their parents' finances, and so that anyone can shape their own future through effort and talent."