From 60s to 100 in Math: How the EBS Self-Directed Learning Center Changed the Study Methods of Four Middle School Students

EBS Special Documentary <The Masters of Study, Changing Children> From 60s to 100 in Math... How did the children become 'Masters of Study'?

- A record of the changes in four middle school students who learned how to study on their own without private education - Changes created by study spaces, desks without mobile phones, planners, and learning coordinators - Professor Shin Jong-ho of Seoul National University Department of Education: "Self-directed learning is not something you do alone from the very beginning"

* Broadcast Date/Time: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 10:50 PM, EBS 1TV

EBS will broadcast the special documentary <The Masters of Study, Changing Children> on September 15 at 10:50 PM on EBS 1TV, capturing the stories of middle school students who are developing the power to study on their own without private education.

The production team visited four EBS Self-Directed Learning Centers in Gwangyang, Gochang, Pocheon, and Yecheon, recording the process of children who had the desire to study but did not know what, how, or how much to do, transforming into 'Masters of Study' who plan, execute, and check their own progress.

"Because I am grateful"... The story behind the deep bow

Kim Jin-seop, a third-year student at Yecheon Middle School, ran away after giving a deep bow to the learning coordinator teachers. When the production team asked why, he gave the short answer, "Because I am grateful." Jin-seop, whose average score stayed in the 60s and had no experience with private education, learned how to make study plans at the Self-Directed Learning Center and raised his science score from 40 to 70. The deep bow contained a sense of change and gratitude that cannot be explained by scores alone.

From the conditions to start studying to the power of self-checking

The EBS Self-Directed Learning Center, which expanded to 100 locations nationwide with 52 new centers selected in 2026, is a free public learning space for middle and high school students. With support from the Ministry of Education, it provides EBS learning programs, textbooks, and learning devices, while learning coordinators help students develop self-directed study habits. The children met here each had their own worries, but they were gradually finding study methods that suited them.

Between dreams and studying, until regaining confidence again

Kim Tae-hee, a third-year student at Gochang Middle School, has many things she wants to do. She participates in competitions as a sprinter and is active in the broadcasting club and student council. As her dream of becoming an announcer becomes clearer, it became important for Tae-hee to divide time between the things she loves and the studies she must do. After receiving career counseling at the center and identifying weak subjects using a planner and the EBS Danchu program, she finds her own priorities instead of giving up on the things she wants to do.

Oh Na-sha, the student council president and a third-year student at Pocheon Girls' Middle School, raised her math score from the 60s to 100, but was shaken again by her science grade, which did not meet expectations. The coordinator determined that regaining confidence was more important than the grade and encouraged her to review the weak areas first. Na-sha, who says "I gain more strength to study when I am together rather than alone," has now become someone who shares her study methods with friends in the classroom.

For one child's study, the whole village works together

In Yecheon, the school and local government move together to support a student's studies. A center opened in an area lacking places to study after school, and for students living far away, dinner and the "100-won Hope Taxi" are provided. This is to ensure that children can study to their heart's content and return home safely even late at night.

Kim Ju-young, a third-year student at Daechang Middle School who wants to become a politician to help the socially disadvantaged, found a study method that suits him at the center. As a result of studying math and English every day and meticulously checking weak areas, he received 100 in Korean and English following social studies and science. However, what the program focuses on is not just the four scores of 100. It is the change of him beginning to decide for himself what he needs to do now.

Ultimately, the power to return to the desk

Professor Shin Jong-ho of the Department of Education at Seoul National University explains that self-directed learning is an active activity of planning, executing, and checking the results. He explains that it is not about doing everything alone, but that recognizing difficulties and asking for help when needed is also the power of self-directed learning.

<The Masters of Study, Changing Children> shows how the power to return to the desk even when it is difficult is created through people who recognize small successes alongside the child and endure slumps together.

The EBS special documentary <The Masters of Study, Changing Children> will be broadcast on Tuesday, September 15, at 10:50 PM on EBS 1TV.

* Related photos are available on the EBS institutional website (about.ebs.co.kr) - Cyber PR Office – Highlight, on the corresponding broadcast date.

◆ At a Glance

· Publishing Institution: EBS

· Category: Special Documentary - The Masters of Study, Changing Children

· Distribution: September 14

Source: EBS Press Release

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