Korea Polytechnics holds exhibition of winning entries from future-career drawing contest
12,579 submissions received; 292 winners named, including 16 grand-prize recipients
Show opens at Gwanghwamun, then travels to Korea JobWorld and Osong Station
From firefighters working alongside AI to sanitation workers clearing space debris and marine doctors saving ocean life, the future careers imagined by children and teenagers across South Korea are coming together in one place.
Korea Polytechnics announced it will hold an exhibition of top entries from the 18th Future Career Drawing Contest at the 172G Gallery in Seoul's Gwanghwamun Station from Thursday through Tuesday.
Jointly organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Korea Polytechnics since 2009 to mark Vocational Skills Month, the nationwide contest invites children and teenagers to explore their futures and career aspirations through drawing.
This year's theme — "My Future Self, My Choice" — drew 12,579 submissions, up 3,270 entries, or 35.1 percent, from last year. Since the contest launched, cumulative submissions have reached 218,599.
A total of 292 winners were selected this year: 16 grand-prize recipients, 16 excellence awards, 30 merit awards, 130 encouragement awards and 100 honorable mentions. Of those, 192 works — including all grand-prize entries — will be on display.
Many of the winning pieces depicted familiar professions reimagined with cutting-edge technology. Entries included "Future Firefighter Working with AI," "Tomorrow's Farm Transformed by AI Engineers," "Hair Designer Working Alongside AI Robots" and "Future Painter with AI."
Works envisioning space as a new workplace also drew attention. Students portrayed space not merely as a frontier for exploration but as a place where environmental stewardship, life and career possibilities converge — through figures such as sanitation workers collecting space debris and zookeepers at orbital animal parks.
Among middle and high school entries, careers tied to solving social problems featured prominently, including cultural heritage restorers, marine debris collection managers, future marine doctors and specialists in reviving extinct species.
Lee Chae-won, a student at Daemyeong High School whose entry "Director of a Digital Historical Verification Institute" won the high school grand prize, said she envisioned a future institution that uses digital technology to authenticate historical records. "I want to be someone who correctly promotes and preserves Korean culture and history," she said.
At the awards ceremony Thursday, the 16 grand-prize winners — including Shim Tae-min, a kindergarten-division winner whose entry was titled "I Am a Rescue Worker Who Appears Wherever There Is Danger" — will receive ministerial citations from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, as well as a Seoul mayor's citation and a cash prize of 500,000 won ($365) each.
After the Gwanghwamun run, the exhibition moves to Korea JobWorld from Tuesday through Oct. 7, followed by a showing at KTX Osong Station from Oct. 8 through Nov. 9.
Lee Cheol-su, chairman of Korea Polytechnics, said the children's drawings capture the creative imagination needed to navigate a changing society, as well as the process of discovering what one loves and does well. "I hope this becomes an opportunity for children and teenagers to reflect on the value of work and carry their potential into the future," he said.
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