Kimpo College Brings Real Majors to Middle School Career Education

At the 2026 Kimpo City Career Education Expo, held on Oct. 15 at Kimpo Sports Complex, local universities joined as full education partners. Kimpo College professors and students met middle schoolers and let them try out what is actually taught in university majors.

Universities as Hands-On Education Partners

Students from 16 middle schools in Kimpo, a city west of Seoul, explored jobs, AI and future technology, and college departments over two days at Kimpo Sports Complex and Kimpo Art Hall. Universities, companies and public institutions each ran their own programs, giving students access to majors and careers rarely seen inside school. Kimpo College President Park Jin-young and Park Hae-ryun, head of its Lifelong Education Center, visited the event.

The department experiences differed from admissions briefings for high schoolers. Rather than choosing a university, students looked at what interests them and how a field is studied in college. Professors explained major content, while current students helped with activities drawing on their own classes. A Yonsei University student, Kim Woo-cheol of the School of Advanced Computing, also served as an AI and software mentor, answering questions on robotics, ICT convergence and game development. Some middle schoolers even brought notebooks to take notes.

Kimpo College is also expanding ties with local high schools. Its agreement with Masong High School covers major experiences and AI and digital convergence education using the college's specialists and practice facilities. Kimpo is a mixed urban and rural city where schools differ in size and access to outside programs, so shared university resources can help close gaps in career exploration.

Why It Matters

As the school-age population shrinks, regional colleges are increasingly serving as shared education infrastructure, not just degree providers. Linking professors, labs and students to middle and high schools can widen career exposure without forcing teens to pick a major early.

Read the original article in Korean: K trendy NEWS