The Sejong City Institute for Culture and Tourism (CEO Park Young-guk) is solidifying its position as a specialized city for educational travel to Korea by successfully attracting a series of international educational tour groups through active public-private partnerships with the Sejong City Office of Education and the Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) executive member companies. This achievement is evaluated as an exemplary model that enhances competitiveness in the global educational tourism market by organically combining Sejong's excellent educational infrastructure and tourism resources.

The Foundation has been operating customized educational travel support programs linked with Sejong's educational infrastructure and tourism resources. Particularly this year, joining hands with FNF Korea, a specialized travel agency holding a director position in the KATA Inbound Committee, the Foundation successfully attracted four new groups of student tours from Malaysia for the second half of the year. This success was achieved through the integration of the private sector's travel planning expertise, administrative and financial support from public institutions, and school field linkage support from the Office of Education.

The exchange activities this year began in June when students from Malaysia's Kolej Yayasan Saad International School visited Daeseong High School. Subsequently, on September 2, students from SMK USJ 12, a national secondary educational institution in Malaysia, visited Dajeong Middle School, which is designated as an international exchange cooperation school by the Sejong City Office of Education, to conduct cultural exchanges and local explorations. Students from both countries communicated in English, transcending language and cultural barriers, to share each other's cultures deeply.

Following this, on September 14, 41 faculty members and students from Malaysia's prestigious public boarding school, Tunku Kurshiah College (STF), made an official visit to Sejong Girls' High School. On this day, Sejong Girls' High School and STF students held a welcome ceremony based on a 1:1 student matching program, and fostered close friendships through various programs such as club performances, cultural exchanges, school tours, and traditional Korean folk games and craft experiences. This enthusiasm for exchange is expected to continue throughout the second half of the year, with a visit from the Malaysia Cempaka International School delegation to Goun High School scheduled for this coming November.

As such, the Sejong City Institute for Culture and Tourism provides multifaceted support to ensure that visiting educational travel groups can smoothly experience local tourist attractions, participate in diverse hands-on programs, and match with local schools. The fact that Sejong City, as an administrative city, is equipped with smart city infrastructure and advanced educational facilities acts as a major strength in providing future-oriented learning experiences for overseas youth.

Tourism Business Division Head Han Kyung-ah stated, "Based on a dense and organic cooperative system with the Sejong City Office of Education and the Korea Association of Travel Agents, we are supporting overseas educational travel groups so that they can deeply experience Sejong's excellent educational environment, Korean culture, and tourist attractions. We will continue to further expand the attraction of educational travel groups to develop Sejong City into a core hub for global educational tourism."

This series of international exchange projects demonstrates that Sejong City is leaping beyond being an administrative city into a central hub of global educational tourism where youth from around the world visit, learn, and communicate. The Foundation plans to expand its overseas network based on differentiated content and systematic attraction strategies, capturing both regional economic revitalization and urban brand enhancement. Detailed information regarding Sejong City's educational travel support programs can be checked through the Foundation's official website or by contacting the Tourism Planning Team.

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