Lee Chang-hyo et al.: Lifelong Learner Essay 2: Life Reformed Through Learning

For a long time, our society was filled with the deep-seated sorrow of not having received an education. Our parents, who had been unable to receive a formal education while surviving the ruins of war following the Japanese colonial period, were mostly uneducated farmers; however, driven by the sole determination that they must educate their children, they spared no sacrifice. Despite this, circumstances remained difficult; in the 1960s, only 6 out of 100 students entered university, and this number did not exceed 30 even by 1980. This deep-seated sorrow persisted for a considerable period. In 1972, following the UK's OU (The Open University, founded in 1969), Korea became the second country in the world to establish a distance learning university. This was none other than the Korea National Open University. Starting as a two-year junior college affiliated with Seoul National University, the Open University has now celebrated its 50th anniversary and grown into a world-class comprehensive university. It has transformed from a small spring into a vast lake. Nearly 800,000 graduates have already quenched their thirst for learning here, and currently, 100,000 students are nurturing their dreams. The Korea Open University graduates, who will soon approach a million, are all individuals who, driven by a desperate desire to learn, devoted themselves to their studies with the determination to study by day and night, and to study diligently through hard work and discipline. It is said that Jo Heon, a leader of the Joseon righteous army, read books propped against the field ridges while plowing, and Zhang Wuqiu, a scholar from the Song Dynasty exiled to the capital, read books standing by the window at dawn for 14 years—until the stepping stones were worn away—because he lacked oil to light his lamp. The passion for learning among KOU students is no less than that of these figures. Just as much as this passion, there are countless KOU graduates who shine like gems in various fields of society and in their respective professions. They unanimously attribute their success to the Korea Open University, asserting that it is the source of their strength.

Korean title: 평생학습인 에세이 2: 배움으로 다잡은 인생

Korean author: 이창효 외

Korean publisher: 책속에지혜

ISBN-13: 9788920042454