KOCEI Opens New Training Center in Suwon

This month the Korean Civic Education Institute for Democracy (KOCEI) opened its brand new training center in Suwon, moving from its former home in Jongno, welcoming a new age of civic education in Korea. The new upgraded facilities will allow KOCEI to undertake training for election officials, candidates and political parties as well as provide future leaders and the next generation of voters with the civic education they need. 

After two years of preparation and building work, KOCEI has finally made its move to its state of the art home. New conference rooms, lecture halls and a large main theater will mean KOCEI will have the capacity to hold large-scale training and education programs in the future. Previously, KOCEI was working from the NEC's former main office in Jongno in central Seoul, but this move to Suwon will further improve the quality of KOCEI's work and make it a world class civic education institute. 

Outside the Opening Ceremony

As well as opening its new home, KOCEI also took the opportunity to launch its new slogan, ‘Cultivating Democratic Citizens to Open the Republic of Korea Tomorrow.’ Under this vision, KOCEI will work to ensure that an advanced political culture with actively engaged citizens is able to take root by informing young people about elections and politics. It is through this education that the voters of tomorrow will become engaged in politics and democracy for the first time. 

But it is not only young people that will feel the benefit of the new center. Training programs for those who wish to run in elections and for members of all political parties will also be run to ensure that everyone who wants to be part of an election will be able to do so and will have a good base knowledge of electoral law. This allows for both equal opportunity and will reduce the chance of violations of election law due to misunderstandings or misinterpretations. KOCEI's new training center will be a place to remove the barriers for entry into democracy. 

NEC Vice Chairperson Moon Sang-boo

KOCEI, was created in 1996 to run civic education in Korea and has quickly developed as an institution, running hundreds of programs. The current President, Seo In-deok was there at the ceremony alongside Vice Chairperson on the NEC Moon Sang-boo and Secretary General Kim Dai-nyeon to welcome in this new era. 21 years after its founding, it was a proud moment to witness the final unveiling of a center that will now be able to meet the increased role KOCEI plays in facilitating Korean democracy.  

As we move into 2018, a number of important programs will be held for the first time in the new center. The future leaders camp for students from around the country will be held next year, as well as the politics academy for democratic citizens. Next year will also see the 14th International Symposium for Civic Education, which will bring together civic education experts from around the world to discuss the key topics in the field. 

To check out continued updates from KOCEI, you can visit the website  http://www.civicedu.go.kr/eng/ or keep checking the blog. We look forward to an exciting 2018 for KOCEI and NEC!