2,840 University Admissions Through Seoul Learn Over Five Years... Eligibility Expanded to 170,000

[Financial News] The number of students admitted to university through Seoul Learn, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's educational welfare policy, reached 2,840 over the five years since its launch. Starting this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government expanded eligibility for Seoul Learn, increasing the number of potential beneficiaries from approximately 120,000 to 170,000. On the 6th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held the 'High Five Seoul Learn' event at Seoul Metropolitan Government to share the achievements of Seoul Learn's first five years and its future development plans. Approximately 300 people attended, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Learn users, mentors, and parents.
Seoul Learn is an educational welfare program operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that provides online educational content and mentoring to reduce educational disparities caused by economic circumstances and other factors.
The number of Seoul Learn users increased approximately fivefold, from 9,069 in 2021, the first year after its launch, to 44,000 as of the end of August this year. Annual user numbers steadily rose from 17,640 in 2022 to 22,924 in 2023, 31,179 in 2024, and 37,642 in 2025.
The number of university admissions is also increasing. According to a Seoul Learn admissions survey, the number of students admitted to university rose from 462 in the 2023 academic year to 682 in 2024, 782 in 2025, and 914 in 2026. The cumulative number of university admissions from the 2023 through 2026 academic years was 2,840.
Learning competency and learning attitudes also improved. In a Seoul Learn performance evaluation survey, users' learning competency scores rose by 8 points, from 75 in 2022 to 83 in 2025, while their learning-attitude scores increased by 10 points, from 75 to 85 over the same period. The average grades of high school students improved by 0.36 grade levels when comparing their performance before and after using Seoul Learn.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government also expanded eligibility for Seoul Learn in July this year. It eased the income requirement from 60% or less of median income to 80% or less and added children from multi-child households, children using community child centers, grandchildren of national merit recipients, and residents of single-parent family welfare facilities to the list of eligible beneficiaries.
As a result, the number of people potentially eligible for Seoul Learn increased by approximately 50,000, from about 120,000 to about 170,000.
Mentoring is also operated as one of Seoul Learn's major programs. Mentee satisfaction reached 95% last year, and more than 1,600 mentors, including university students and seniors, participated in the first half of this year, providing academic guidance, helping students develop study habits, supporting career exploration, and offering emotional support.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand Seoul Learn from an 'education ladder' focused on learning support into a 'growth ladder' that supports young people's career and college planning as well as their plans for the future.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "Seoul Learn is the Seoul Metropolitan Government's signature policy of standing with the socially vulnerable. It goes beyond reducing educational disparities caused by economic circumstances by providing all young people with a fair starting line and opportunities for growth." He added, "Going forward, we will develop Seoul Learn beyond an education ladder that expands learning opportunities into a growth ladder that accompanies children throughout the entire process of growing while designing their dreams and futures."

[email protected] Seongchorong Reporter