Seoul’s Gangseo-gu (Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon) held the Gangseo-gu–Kiturami Scholarship Certificate Ceremony with Kiturami Group at the district office on the 21st, awarding a combined 100 million won in scholarships to 66 local high school and university students. Kiturami Group, which maintains its corporate headquarters along with major business and research operations in Gangseo-gu, matched last year’s 100 million won contribution for a second consecutive year of support. The ceremony drew attention as a public-private partnership in which a company rooted in the district channeled its resources back into the education of students from that same district.
 [코리안투데이] Group photo from the scholarship award ceremony © 송정숙 기자 |
Attendees included Jeong Heon-jae, Vice Mayor of Gangseo-gu, and Choi Jin-min, Chairman of Kiturami Group, along with the high school and university students selected as scholarship recipients. Vice Mayor Jeong personally presented certificates to all 66 students in attendance, offering congratulations and words of encouragement. Recipients were chosen through a screening process based on academic excellence and recommendations of exemplary students.
 [코리안투데이] Kiturami Group Chairman Choi Jin-min delivers congratulatory remarks © 송정숙 기자 |
Scholarships were set at 1 million won per high school student and 2 million won per university student. The Kiturami Cultural Foundation delivered the full 100 million won along with the certificates. Rather than routing support indirectly through schools or institutions, the funds go straight to individual students, allowing them to cover immediate academic costs such as textbooks and study materials.
Kim Han-mi, a student at Kyungbock Business High School and one of the recipients, said, “I’m glad that the effort I’ve put into my school life has led to this valuable scholarship. I plan to use it toward buying textbooks to prepare for university.” Kim Ji-won, a student at Seoul National University, added, “It means all the more to receive such strong support from Gangseo-gu, where I was born and raised. I’ll continue to give my best in my studies.”
In his congratulatory remarks, Chairman Choi said, “With our group headquarters and key business and research operations located in Gangseo-gu, meeting all of you today carries special meaning,” adding, “I hope you will hold on to this meaningful encounter within the sturdy fence that is Gangseo-gu, and grow into outstanding talent who will lead our society.” His remarks framed the district where the company is based and the students growing up there as part of a single community.
The Kiturami Cultural Foundation’s scholarship program is no one-off event. Operating under the banner of “equal educational opportunity for all,” the foundation has run the program for 41 years since 1985, supporting a cumulative total of 70,000 students with 61 billion won in funding. Through its cultural and welfare foundations, it also carries out other social contribution programs including academic research grants, development fund donations to educational institutions, support for social welfare facilities and housing improvement projects.
Private scholarship funding of this kind helps fill gaps in local government education support. Household education costs — university tuition, private tutoring and textbooks — have proven stubbornly resistant to decline, while basic-level local governments face clear limits on the scholarship funding they can generate from their own budgets alone. An arrangement in which a local company steadily supplies the funds and the district handles selection and disbursement is notable because its impact on students and parents grows as it repeats year after year rather than ending after a single round.
Vice Mayor Jeong said, “I extend my deep gratitude to Chairman Choi Jin-min for his warm interest and generous contribution of a substantial scholarship fund so that students can focus on their studies,” adding, “I sincerely congratulate those selected, and I hope they will grow with confidence into core talent leading Gangseo-gu’s next generation.” Further information is available from the Gangseo-gu Office’s Education Support Division at 02-2600-7819.
송정숙 기자 (gangseo@thekoreantoday.com)
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 강서
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