1. Study Objectives and Methods

▮ Research background and goals

￮ Achieving Jeonbuk State’s vision (North Jeolla Province was renamed Jeonbuk State in January 2024) and hitting its net-zero goals by 2050 necessitate systematic environmental education that can raise residents’ awareness of climate change and facilitate their voluntary participation in reducing their carbon footprint.

￮ This study aimed to analyze the current conditions and critical issues of environmental education in Jeonbuk State and explore the possibility of developing policy projects to create an environmental education city (pilot city) as a regional hub.

▮ Research methods

￮ We conducted a literature review to analyze the government’s environmental education policy trends and the current status of Jeonbuk State’s environmental education. Additionally, we examined the policy programs of local governments participating in an environmental education city project. 

￮ To determine Jeonbuk State’s suitability for an environmental education city and identify related issues, we performed in-depth interviews with officials from environmental education institutions as well as relevant instructors and experts.

￮ We employed a SWOT analysis tool to comprehensively analyze the region’s suitability, develop fundamental roadmaps and corresponding strategies, and propose detailed strategy-specific policy projects.

 2. Conclusion and Policy Suggestion

▮ In-depth interview results

￮ [Infrastructure] Many interviewees pointed out opportunities for improvement, such as the near absence of budgets and organizations dedicated to environmental education, poor awareness, ineffective and inefficient administrative and collaborative systems, and the lack of educational facilities.

￮ [Performance] Despite the pursuit of best practices and proactive policies, interview results called for constructing sustainable management systems and devising ways to activate policies.

￮ [Issues] We confirmed the concerns over and expectations of environmental education in Jeonbuk State and ascertained the need for greater efficiency and transparency in the management of instructors and educational programs.

￮ [Room for improvement] We identified wide-ranging policy demands for strengthening infrastructure (securing budgets and creating dedicated organizations and relevant markets), enhancing performance (developing systematic programs, delivering effective messages, and incorporating other Jeonbuk State policies to generate synergistic effects), and reinforcing collaboration (sharing information, strengthening networks, and promoting cooperation between Jeonbuk State and the Office of Education). We reflected detailed suggestions in our proposed strategies and policy projects.

▮ Setting policy goals for creating an environmental education city

￮ [Goal 1] Creating an environmental education hub based on an environmental education pilot city: The pilot city (special case) will be leveraged to build local government infrastructure, and the regional hub, designated by the Ministry of Environment as an environmental education city, will be created.

￮ [Goal 2] Promoting the success story of a Jeonbuk-specific environmental education model: A regionally customized model for environmental education policies will be designed; this model will showcase its inherent “will” to develop sustainable awareness, transcending the symbolic meaning of “designation.”

￮ [Goal 3] Strengthening the environmental education network through intersectoral cooperation and communication for mutually beneficial outcomes: Intersectoral (e.g., energy, forestry, and cultural tourism) exchanges and collaborations will be actively pursued for competence building and information sharing.

▮ Strategy-specific policy projects

￮ The following table lists the detailed action plans of the proposed projects.

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