Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Invests KRW 6.7 Billion in Senior Education This Year… Delivering “Vibrant Later Years, a Life of Learning”

내용

□ Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that the city has established and will begin full-scale implementation of the 2026 Senior Education Support Plan to respond to growing educational demand among seniors as society enters a super-aged era and to support vibrant later years.
○ With the vision of delivering “Vibrant later years, a life of learning,” Busan Metropolitan City will invest a total of KRW 6.7 billion this year in senior education support projects (KRW 0.1 billion in national funding, KRW 4.7 billion from the city, and KRW 1.9 billion from district and county governments).

□ The plan was prepared to bridge the information gap among seniors in a rapidly changing digital environment and to expand opportunities for social participation after retirement.

□ Busan Metropolitan City will provide tailored education for seniors centered on three key tasks: local community-based learning hubs, specialized lifelong learning hubs, and venues for communication and harmony.

□ First, Busan Metropolitan City will operate local community-based learning hubs centered on more than 2,700 senior leisure and welfare facilities with excellent accessibility near home, including senior welfare centers and senior centers.
○ The city will provide KRW 3.8 billion to 35 senior welfare centers to run not only general education, humanities, and health promotion programs, but also digital capability training such as smartphone and kiosk use.
○ For 2,523 senior centers, the city will distribute specialized programs and assign 20 roving program managers to support tailored education by facility. In particular, by linking with the senior employment program, Busan Metropolitan City will help digitally underserved groups adapt through “mobile smartphone training.”
○ For 150 senior schools, the city will provide operating subsidies to offer hobby and leisure courses. In addition, to ensure more comprehensive lifelong learning opportunities for seniors who have difficulty attending on weekdays, Busan Metropolitan City will separately select and support around 10 “Weekend Senior Schools.”

□ Second, Busan Metropolitan City will significantly strengthen the function of specialized lifelong learning hubs by leveraging strong local university infrastructure to offer high-quality educational opportunities. A key initiative is the large-scale senior complex, HAHA Campus, currently being developed by utilizing idle facilities at Catholic University of Pusan.
○ The HAHA Campus Edu Program was selected for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s 2026 Senior Sports Voucher Program competition and secured KRW 300 million in national funding over three years. Based on this, Busan Metropolitan City will expand sports courses that are seeing rapidly growing demand among active seniors, including pickleball, tennis, billiards and pocket billiards, table tennis, walking (trekking), and ground golf.
○ In October, Busan Metropolitan City plans to host the HAHA Sports Festival, bringing together participating seniors, their families, and Busan citizens. The event will include the HAHA Healthy Walk (Yunsan Barrier-Free Sharing Trail), sport-specific tournaments, and a Family Day where three generations can enjoy activities together, creating a venue for intergenerational integration.
○ In addition, Busan Metropolitan City will support job competency enhancement and liberal arts education for planning a second career and life after retirement through the Busan Senior Academy in partnership with seven universities and the 50+ Life Redesign College with participation from 12 universities.

□ Third, Busan Metropolitan City will create venues for communication and harmony by supporting organizations related to senior education.
○ The city will support events such as a Senior Education Festival and a Senior College Federation Arts Festival where seniors can showcase their artistic talents, and it will strengthen the capacity of local senior leaders by operating a Senior Leaders College, helping them form proactive learning networks.

□ Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “This year, we focused on helping seniors access education easily close to home and enabling them to dream new dreams through professional university-based education,” adding, “Busan Metropolitan City will continue to provide multifaceted support so that seniors can enjoy healthy and happy later years through learning.”