Empowering a New Generation: Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Extends Lifeline to Cuban Korean Descendants Through Innovative Education Support Project

The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 24th that it will resume the education support project for descendants of Koreans in Cuba that was suspended at the end of 2019.

This project was established in 1921 to honor the patriotic spirit of Koreans in Cuba who devoted themselves to the independence of the Republic of Korea in a foreign country during the Japanese colonial period, and to support the education of their descendants.

Koreans in Cuba formed the Cuban branch of the Korean National Association, which became a stronghold of the independence movement, raised funds for independence, and fought for the independence of their homeland in Cuba by supporting the Gwangju Student Independence Movement and providing special support funds.

In order to honor their wishes, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education began an exchange with the Cuban Korean Descendants Association in 2017, and has continued to provide educational support, including donations of computers and books, since 2018. In 2019, two children from the Cuban Korean Descendants Association were invited to Jeonnam and provided with educational opportunities for one year.

The previous day, the Provincial Office of Education held a Korean cultural exchange event with the Cuban Korean Descendants Association at the Cuba Memories Miramar Havana Hotel, attended by former South Korean Superintendent of Education Kim Dae-jung, and introduced the Korean descendants’ education support project.

A total of four people were selected as this year’s Cuban Korean descendants scholarship recipients. They will be able to receive Korean language, culture, and history education, as well as vocational training that suits their career path, in Jeonnam for three years starting next year.

The provincial Office of Education plans to continue its educational support program for descendants of Koreans living in Cuba.

Superintendent Kim said, “We will focus on honoring the high spirit of ‘righteousness’ of Koreans in Cuba and making it widely known through educational support and exchange projects,” and “We will actively support descendants of Koreans in Cuba so that they can learn in Jeollanam-do and realize their dreams.”

Reporter Hankyung Kook hkk42@mdilbo.com