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Ministry of Education building. / Reporter Park Seong-il,

Student representatives from cities and provinces nationwide will gather together for the first time to discuss practical measures for reducing hate speech and discriminatory expression at schools and on social media.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 5th that it will hold the "2026 National Joint Training for School Student Union Federations" from the 6th to the 7th, in partnership with regional education offices and the Korean Educational Development Institute, at Sono Belle Cheonan, the Independence Hall of Korea, and the Gwangdeoksan Environmental Education Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

The training will bring together 50 student representatives from school student union federations across the country's cities and provinces — the first time student representatives have gathered nationwide in this way.

Students will hold group discussions on the theme of "Practical measures to prevent hate speech and discriminatory expression in schools and digital/social media environments." They will share their experiences with student self-governance and their views, and work to develop measures they can put into practice directly at their schools.

Expert lectures and hands-on programs will also be offered to help students reflect on their roles as members of their community and as citizens, and to practice democratic values in daily life. Lectures on the themes of "Student Self-Governance and Democratic Citizenship" and "Constitutional Values" will be held, alongside ecological and environmental activities at the Gwangdeoksan Environmental Education Center and historical experience programs at the Independence Hall of Korea.

Building on this training, the Ministry of Education plans to establish a "Student Participation Forum" connecting schools, regions, and the national level, creating an ongoing platform for student self-governance discussions. The forum is intended to serve as a channel for students to regularly discuss community issues and directly propose ideas for education policy.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said, "Democracy is a process of speaking your mind in a public forum, listening to other views, and reconciling differences to find common ground," adding, "We will support students so that through self-governance activities, they can work together to solve community problems and grow into democratic citizens who lead change in their lives and in the world."

                                                                                                          Kim Nam-hyung