Donga Publishing's visual literacy picture book passes Gyeonggi education review

Donga Publishing announced Monday that its elementary school picture book on visual literacy has passed the final review by the Gyeonggi Province superintendent of education for approval as a recognized instructional material.

The book is designed to help students examine visual information — including illustrations and written text — and discover and express their own ideas. It can be used in classes tied to school free-time programs and reading education plans run by local and provincial education offices.

The material was developed based on a book-writing project conducted at Jangan Elementary School in Seongnam, in which students interpreted the meaning of images and text and then created their own picture books, linking reading with creative activity.

Donga Publishing will provide teachers with administrative resources including subject operation and assessment plans, activity sheets, presentation slides and introductory videos. A video of the pilot class held at Jangan Elementary will also be made available through the Dooclass YouTube channel and other platforms.

To mark the approval, the publisher will recruit a group of elementary school teachers to try out the material. Among participants who watch the pilot class video and submit feedback, 300 will be selected by lottery to receive a review copy of the book.

"This is a recognized instructional material designed to help students closely examine illustrations, text and a range of visual information, and to discover and express their own ideas," a Donga Publishing official said.