Mayor Im Byung-taek: 'We will build a stronger education ecosystem where schools and communities work together'
Siheung held its first "Siheung Wall-Breaking Talk" on Tuesday at the ABC Hall of Siheung ABC Happy Learning Town, bringing together parents and education officials to discuss pressing education issues. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education and the Siheung Education Support Office co-hosted the event.
The program is a communication initiative aimed at bridging general and education administration to share the voices of those on the ground — all in the interest of children's education.
Organized under the motto "a traveling superintendent's office, mayor's office, lawmaker's office and education director's office," the event brought together Siheung Mayor Im Byung-taek, Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok, National Assembly member Moon Jeong-bok and Siheung Education Support Office Director Kim Byeong-san for a town hall-style discussion with parents on education issues.
The event featured an exhibition and photo zone showcasing Siheung's education cooperation achievements and its RAS — Reading, Arts and Culture, and Sports — initiative, a nanta percussion performance by parents, policy briefings from the city and the education support office, and a question-and-answer session covering both pre-submitted and on-site questions from parents.
Siheung shared the results of 16 years of community-education cooperation at the forum. The city has expanded learning beyond school walls through its "Siheung-style local curriculum," which connects the region's human and material resources, natural environment and industrial base to school curricula. The core of the effort has been supporting children to learn and grow through everyday life by drawing on the community's diverse assets.
The city plans to extend its education cooperation into future industries such as biotech and AI. It intends to link local industries and specialists to school curricula so students can better understand the region's industries and technologies and find new career paths and learning opportunities.
"Starting with this event, we will continue to create diverse forums where we can share the voices of parents and schools," Mayor Im said. "We will keep connecting local resources to children's learning and build an even stronger education ecosystem where schools and the community grow together."
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