Kangwon Land launches shared curriculum to bridge education gap in coal-transition region

A shared curriculum featuring professional instructors has been introduced in coal-industry transition areas that have long lacked educational opportunities due to geographic constraints.

Kangwon Land announced Monday that it has been expanding its educational support through the "Kangwon Land Baeumsup Project," a career and academic support initiative aimed at addressing educational inequality in coal-transition regions and nurturing local talent. The four-week program began Aug. 20.

The shared curriculum has drawn a roster of prominent educators, including Kwon Oh-hyun, an emeritus professor at Seoul National University's College of Education who designed South Korea's student record-based university admissions system, along with Jeong Yun-gil, a professor at Dongguk University; Byeon Jeong-ho, director of the Science Gifted Education Center at Kangwon National University; Kim Hee-tae, an associate professor at Korea Institute of Energy Technology; and a number of current schoolteachers.

Through December, the instructors will teach participating students courses including "Understanding Core Competencies for Future Society," a humanities-integrated subject, and "Generative AI and Maker Practice," a natural science and engineering-integrated course.

Coal-transition areas have historically struggled with high cancellation rates — reaching 58 percent — for university-linked programs offered in collaboration with institutions in other regions, largely due to geographic conditions and a small school-age population. The new shared curriculum, however, opened to strong demand.

Ninety-four students — 31 percent of the 304 total applicants across all inter-school shared curriculum programs in Gangwon Province — enrolled in this course. The average number of applicants per subject stood at 15.6, or 2.7 times the figure of 5.8 recorded in urban areas.

Participating students will carry out hands-on projects including research into local issues and the creation of maker works using generative AI and IoT sensors. All activities will be recorded in the academic ability and special notes section of each student's school record.

Jeon Je-man, acting head of Kangwon Land's ESG Co-prosperity Division, said the company would "actively provide transportation for students and one-on-one personalized college counseling to lay the groundwork for local talent to pursue their dreams."

Meanwhile, as part of the Baeumsup Project, Kangwon Land held the "2026 EduBridge College Admissions Festival" at High1 Resort in July, offering career motivation sessions and college entrance coaching tailored to students from coal-transition areas.