Dr. Yeong Jin Ko

Ko, Young Jin, State Superintendent of the Gyeongnam Office of Education, has a PhD in Pedagogy and has served as a teacher, superintendent of a local office of education and university president. 

Under the motto of ‘Education is a guide to a happy life,’ Dr. Ko developed 8 volumes of Touching Reading Material designed to inspire students. Dr. Ko also established July 9 as Friend Day for the first time in Korea to foster friendships.

Dr. Ko has aided his country in realizing equal education through the establishment of the Gyeongnam International Education Center for multi-racial families and the Gyeongnam Education for the Future Foundation, which enables talented but financially challenged students to achieve their potential. He has also spearheaded the construction of a multipurpose auditorium for rural residents. As well, Dr. Ko has been instrumental in the enactment of a local government ordinance to financially support education and has promoted a free lunch program for students.

Dr. Ko has carried out humane education to bring world peace into realization through the Coin Collection Campaign for children with incurable diseases, the Fund-raising Campaign to help Japanese victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami, and a fund-raising campaign to relieve international starvation.

In addition, Dr. Ko has strived to achieve ‘human co-prosperity’ by financially aiding the construction of an elementary school in Pyongyang, North Korea, establishing an IT education center in Vietnam, providing Vietnamese teachers with opportunities to visit Korea and take part in teacher training workshops, drafting MOUs with 19 universities from 7 countries to exchange knowledge, and supporting the opening of the Korean Language Academy and Flora Resources Research Center in Mongolia.

He has the distinction of being the first educator to win the ‘Korean CEO Award’ given by the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the newspaper Hankuk-Ilbo.