Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Takes the Lead in Strengthening Citizens’ Digital Capabilities in the AI Era through the “Digital Learning Center”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that through the “Digital Learning Center” initiative, it has significantly enhanced citizens’ digital capabilities in line with the AI era and implemented customized education programs reflecting local characteristics and citizen demand, resulting in the training of more than 70,000 participants.

The “Digital Learning Center” initiative is jointly promoted by Busan Metropolitan City, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and all 16 districts and counties. It was operated from May 1 to December 11 at major education sites, including two hub centers—Sodambang on the second floor of Busan Library and Room 112 of the Busan Eurasia Platform—as well as district and county information education centers and 17 digital experience zones.

Since 2020, in response to the rapid changes in the digital environment such as the spread of generative AI, the City has supported citizens so that anyone can receive digital competency training essential for daily life at locations near their residence, with the aim of preventing new forms of digital divide and exclusion.

In particular, in 2025, a total of 70,646 participants completed the training, achieving 162% of the target and recording the highest achievement rate nationwide. From 2020 through this year, the cumulative number of trainees has reached 420,000.

As of December 11, the City’s major achievements for the year include:
▲ total number of trainees: 70,646 (162% of the target of 43,594, ranking first nationwide)
▲ total number of digital experience participants: 56,495 (213% of the target of 26,510)
▲ competency improvement rate*: 22.5% (119% of the target of 18.9%)
▲ education satisfaction score: 96 points (120% of the target of 80 points)
▲ job creation: 134 positions, including instructors and guides.

*Based on pre- and post-training surveys measuring participants’ digital competency levels.

The Digital Learning Center also provided customized, on-site education by visiting locations where training was needed. A notable example was training provided to more than 200 small business owners in the Busan Gold Theme Street commercial area.

To accommodate busy merchants, instructors visited merchant association meeting rooms directly and provided training to over 200 participants on topics such as AI-powered translation for serving foreign customers and producing promotional videos for their own shops using AI tools.

One participant, identified as Mr. Park, said, “I’ve been running my business in the same place for over 30 years, so I didn’t really know how the world was changing. AI is truly fascinating and impressive. I hope to study hard together with my son and apply what we’ve learned to our business so that it can grow even more.”

In addition, as part of policy-tailored education programs, training on the “Busan Is Good Dongbaekjeon App” was conducted for approximately 1,600 participants using district and county information education centers.

This program targeted middle-aged and senior citizens who were aware of the various benefits of the Dongbaekjeon app but had difficulty applying for and using it. The training was conducted in a hands-on format covering the entire process, from app installation to earning Happiness Mileage points.

Another participant, identified as Mr. Kim, said, “I had heard a lot about Dongbaekjeon and Dongbaek Mileage, and I even installed the app, but it was all too difficult for me. After receiving the training, I learned that simply walking and scanning QR codes can earn Happiness Mileage that can be converted into money. It’s really amazing and fun.”

Furthermore, Busan Metropolitan City operated the nation’s largest number of digital experience zones—17 in total—supporting 59,495 citizens in digital experiences this year. The mobile “Edu Bus,” which travels to locations in need of training, was used by 4,049 participants. In addition, to enable learning anytime and anywhere, the City is providing 100 online video lectures through the “Busan Video Archive.”

Meanwhile, on the 16th, Busan Metropolitan City presented mayoral commendations to individuals and organizations that made outstanding contributions to the achievements of the Digital Learning Center in 2025.

Award recipients included the Busan Precious Metals Distribution Cooperative (Chairman Kim Young-hoon) for contributing to customized digital education for small business owners in the Gold Theme Street area; Shinhan Haki-jae Busan (Shinhan Bank Co., Ltd.) for serving as a key hub for preventing financial digital crimes; outstanding instructor Lee Ji-hyun; and exemplary organizations and individuals such as Busanjin District, Lee So-hee (Dong District administrative officer), and Kim Seon-gyo, Manager at KT CS.

Cho Young-tae, Director of the Administrative Management Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Thanks to the strong interest and participation of many citizens, Digital Learning Center education achieved the highest performance rate nationwide, marking a very meaningful accomplishment.” He added, “Going forward, we will continue to enhance educational content and accessibility so that all citizens can learn and use digital technologies more easily and conveniently, while further developing the program in ways that respond to the changing digital environment, including AI, and emerging new demands.”