Busan city, education office launch cooperation drive under new administration

Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education have agreed to join forces to respond to changes in the education environment and work together toward the growth and well-being of children and the future of Busan as a maritime capital.

The two bodies held the second-half Busan Education Administration Council for 2026 on Wednesday afternoon at the Busan City Hall video conference room. The council is a biannual forum for discussing key issues including school education conditions and education support projects. The meeting marked the first official encounter between Mayor Jeon Jae-soo and Superintendent of Education Kim Seok-jun since the launch of the ninth elected term.

The two institutions issued a joint declaration for "a Busan that raises children and opens the future together," and agreed to establish a sustainable integrated cooperation framework to nurture local talent and improve residents' quality of life.

The joint declaration sets out six action tasks: leading the AI era and cultivating future talent for local industries; expanding maritime education by leveraging Busan's strengths as a maritime capital; creating safe school commuting environments and building a seamless childcare system; improving school meal quality; promoting mutual cooperation on opening school sports facilities to the public; and strengthening cooperation on the use of closed and unused school sites.

At the main session that followed, the city and the education office discussed five agenda items proposed by each side. The city put forward cooperation to make more efficient use of closed school properties and a request for support in organizing youth participation events at the Busan Independence Movement Memorial Hall. The education office submitted three items: establishing a Busan-style "ondol" (community care and after-school) network; consultations on school meal cost operations for 2027; and consultations on budgeting for statutory transfers for 2027.

Building on the joint declaration and the council, the city and the education office plan to strengthen their cooperative framework on education issues and continue working together to improve local education conditions and develop future talent.

"Raising and educating children is now a task that must be taken on not just by families and schools, but by the entire city," Mayor Jeon said. "Busan's future ultimately begins with education, and today's declaration is the starting point."

Superintendent Kim expressed hope that the occasion would serve as a turning point for Busan's children to nurture their dreams in a safer, higher-quality environment, and for Busan to emerge as a city leading the future of education as a maritime capital.