Last year, 18,924 Seoul citizens embarked on new life challenges using the ‘Seoul Lifelong Education Voucher.’ This project, which provided 350,000 won per person, removed income criteria from the second half of last year, thus offering more learning opportunities to citizens.
On the 13th, Seoul announced that it would publish a journal gathering the winners of the ‘Lifelong Education Voucher’ excellence case contest to share last year’s operational success. This journal will be available for download on the Seoul Lifelong Education Voucher website starting January 13th and will also be distributed in booklet form.
The ‘Lifelong Education Voucher’ is a system that supports the tuition and textbook fees for lifelong learning courses selected by citizens in the form of points. Last year, Seoul removed the income conditions through regulatory relaxation, allowing citizens over 19 to apply.
This project started as a pilot project by the Ministry of Education in 2018, and since last year, metropolitan governments have operated it directly to provide support suited to local characteristics. In its first year of transition, Seoul promoted a customized project segment into four types: general, disabled, digital, and elderly. The first recruitment targeted the educationally marginalized, and the second expanded to include the general public, regardless of income.
To prevent budget waste, Seoul established an effective management system by recruiting those without issued cards and those who gave up on issuance four times a year. Additionally, the number of accessible institutions was increased to 829 through cooperation with the Seoul Lifelong Education Promotion Agency and 25 districts.
In November of last year, Seoul held the ‘2025 Seoul Lifelong Education Voucher Contest,’ receiving a total of 421 entries in three categories: learning stories, acrostic poems (N행시), and excellent cases from institutions. In the learning story section, 3 grand prizes, 7 excellent awards, and 10 encouragement awards were selected. In the institutional section, ‘Daekyo Language Square Online Lifelong Education Center’ and ‘Eduwill Online Lifelong Education Center’ were chosen as excellent institutions.
The case of Daekyo Language Square was notable for providing step-by-step learning support to elderly learners unfamiliar with the digital environment, allowing them to continue learning Chinese through video lessons. Eduwill Online Lifelong Education Center introduced an AI-based learning management system and one-on-one mentoring, increasing learning persistence and satisfaction.
The cases of the contest winners show that the lifelong education voucher goes beyond mere educational financial support, becoming a turning point for personal growth and life transformation. Mr. Seo, who acquired a baking technician certificate, expressed his feelings, saying, “I could focus solely on my dreams without financial burden.” Ms. Jo, who raised her children alone for 17 years, learned through oil painting lessons that “life can become deeper with layers.” Mr. Park, aged 71, is retrying the social worker level 2 qualification course, expressing his intention to “practice learning by helping neighbors through volunteer work.”
Based on these citizen cases, Seoul plans to expand lifelong learning participation opportunities this year. The announcement for ‘Seoul Lifelong Education Voucher’ applications will be made in the first half of this year, and applications can be made through the Seoul website or the Lifelong Education Voucher website. Selected citizens will receive NH Nonghyup Cheum Cards and can use the point payment method at registered lifelong education institutions.
Jung Jin-woo, the director of Seoul Lifelong Education Bureau, stated, “Last year, which was the first year transferred to Seoul, we consolidated the system’s foundation and directly confirmed changes in citizens’ lives. We will continue to aim for ‘Seoul as a leading city of lifelong learning’ where citizens can enjoy learning closer to home.”