Reviving Frozen Elementary School Experiential Learning... Seoul Education Office Provides 1.8 Billion Won

[Financial News] With the participation rate for non-overnight experiential learning at elementary schools in Seoul falling to 26% this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will allocate 1.8 billion won from a supplementary budget to protect teachers and provide support staff and buses.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the “2026 Seoul-Style Experiential Learning Support Plan” on the 15th. In addition to the existing main budget of 1.07 billion won, it secured 1.8 billion won in supplementary funding to support schools in safely operating experiential learning programs and reduce their administrative burden.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the participation rate for non-overnight experiential learning at elementary schools in Seoul fell from 79% in 2024 to 51% in 2025 and 26% this year. The participation rate for overnight experiential learning stood at 13% in 2024, 8% in 2025 and 11% this year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education identified teacher protection and reducing schools’ administrative burden as key priorities. In the second half of this year, it will pursue amendments to the School Safety Act to exempt teachers from civil and criminal liability for school safety accidents absent intent or gross negligence. It is also considering introducing a system under which the education office assumes responsibility for litigation. The district education support offices will manage the pool of experiential learning support staff, handle contracts and pay personnel costs. Buses for one-day experiential learning programs will also be provided free of charge. In the first half of next year, the office plans to establish a system supporting advance safety inspections and simplify operating procedures, including abolishing surveys of parental consent rates.
The 1.8 billion won supplementary budget will focus on support staff, experiential learning buses and transportation costs for preliminary site visits. A total of 640 million won was allocated for support staff, 480 million won for free experiential learning buses and 170 million won for transportation costs for preliminary site visits. Another 140 million won was allocated for experiential learning expenses, 330 million won for class outings and specialized camps, and 45 million won for establishing advance inspection and emergency support systems.
Geun-sik Chung, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, visited Seoul Beondong Elementary School that morning to see off students, an accompanying teacher and safety support staff departing for a career-exploration activity, and gathered opinions from the field. Chung said, "We will continue providing close support so that teachers’ workload is reduced while students can nurture their dreams through diverse experiences in a safe environment." 

[email protected] Man-gi Kim Reporter