![The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education [Busan Metropolitan Office of Education]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/04/news-p.v1.20260804.649a37a8c97f42ef87fc4c292d0ce20b_P1.png)
The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education announced Tuesday that it will establish and operate a year-round, one-on-one personalized college admissions counseling system ahead of the 2027 academic year's early admissions cycle, available regardless of whether schools are in session or on break, and on both weekdays and weekends.
The move comes amid an expected shift in the admissions information landscape following a recent revision to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that restricts the commercial use of school records. The office said the initiative aims to ease anxiety among students and parents by strengthening a public-education-led admissions support framework and helping them prepare for university entrance on stable footing.
Drawing on experienced specialists from the Busan College Admissions Support Team and former college admissions officers, the office has built a counseling network unconstrained by time or location. It encompasses eight channels: an outreach admissions counseling classroom, a dedicated counseling room staffed by former admissions officers, an in-person evening guidance service, an online guidance service, intensive counseling periods ahead of early and regular admissions application windows, an admissions counseling camp, district-level career education support center consultations, and a focused counseling week for vulnerable groups.
The Saturday morning outreach admissions counseling classroom sends specialist advisers from the Busan College Admissions Support Team directly to schools, where they provide 50-minute, one-on-one sessions per student. Parents and teachers may also take part, and schools in areas that tend to be underserved by admissions information receive priority to help close the information gap.
The counseling room staffed by former admissions officers operates five days a week, Monday through Friday, with 10 sessions per day from 10 a.m. to 4:20 p.m., offering one-on-one, in-person consultations for parents. For working parents who cannot visit during the day, an evening guidance service runs four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, with six sessions per night from 7 p.m. to 8:50 p.m., staffed by advisers from the Busan College Admissions Support Team.
An online counseling service is also available around the clock for students and parents who find in-person visits or reservations difficult. Users can post questions on the Busan Career and College Guidance Support Center website, where the Busan College Admissions Support Team responds, providing admissions information free of time and location constraints.
In the period immediately before early and regular admissions application windows — when students' concerns tend to peak — the office will run intensive counseling periods offering 30 one-on-one sessions per day from the Busan College Admissions Support Team. Appointments can be made in advance through the Busan Career and College Guidance Support Center website.
Meanwhile, a 2026 admissions counseling camp held July 28 and 29 at BEXCO in Haeundae-gu drew 78 universities from across the country, including 22 from Busan and 22 from Seoul, drawing strong attendance. University admissions officers and Busan College Admissions Support Team advisers provided one-on-one, field- and grade-specific personalized consultations and practical admissions information covering the full range of universities students and parents were interested in applying to, earning a positive response.
kaf2002@heraldcorp.com
