As companies increasingly value character and humanistic sensibility — some say they hire for credentials but let people go over conduct — and as South Korea's college entrance exam demands ever-deeper reasoning and judgment, Gangwon Province is stepping up efforts to strengthen reading and humanities education for its students.
The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education signed an MOU with St. John's College on Friday, agreeing to cooperate on "nurturing future talent for the AI era through Great Books education."
The agreement aims to develop students' literacy, critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills through discussion-based instruction centered on classic texts, with the goal of cultivating the core competencies demanded in an AI-driven era.
"In the age of AI, the ability to ask one's own questions, think deeply and debate with others matters more than simply finding the right answer," Superintendent Kang Sam-young said. "Through our partnership with St. John's College — a world-renowned institution for Great Books education — we will actively support Gangwon students in growing into future leaders equipped with humanistic imagination and critical thinking."
Under the MOU, the two institutions plan to jointly develop discussion-based Great Books programs for elementary, middle and high school students, run a Great Books tutor training program to strengthen teacher expertise, and sustain ongoing educational exchanges.
The agreement covers four main areas: developing Great Books discussion programs for primary and secondary students; running Great Books training sessions and a tutor certification program for teachers; expanding academic exchanges through joint research, lectures and symposiums; and building a sustainable cooperation framework drawing on both institutions' educational resources.
The education office expects the partnership to go beyond simple reading activities by linking Great Books instruction — centered on questioning and debate — to the school curriculum, fostering students' capacity for self-directed learning and humanistic literacy.
The signing ceremony was attended by Superintendent Kang, education office officials, St. John's College President Walter Sterling, Senior Advisor for External Relations Emily Langston, St. John's tutors, and domestic experts in Great Books education.
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