Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) has been selected as the implementing institution for both the practical and advanced courses of the “2025 Craft Professional Training Education Program Operation Project,” hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation. This selection covers the Department of Ceramic Art and the Department of Metal Art within the College of Fine Arts.

This initiative is a newly restructured educational program launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism starting in 2025 to respond to the sustained growth of domestic and international craft culture and markets. It operates through two independent systems: the “Practical Course” and the “Advanced Course.” Its purpose is to cultivate specialized mediators connecting craft producers and consumers, thereby creating new job opportunities for specialists and potential talent, while simultaneously promoting the development potential of the craft industry and market expansion.

Kookmin University operates the Practical Course “CRAFT ON LIVE; CRAFT AFFAIRS” and the Advanced Course “CRAFT ON LIVE; PROJECT OCCUPIED.” Through these programs, the university plans to cultivate specialized professionals such as craft curators (exhibition planners), craft merchandisers (product and distribution planners), and craft educators (education specialists) to lead Korea's rapidly growing craft culture industry, which is gaining global attention alongside K-Culture.

This program offers in-depth education integrating practical field experience and academic foundations through collaboration with over 30 industry experts and 7 faculty members (Professors Park Jung Won and Ahn Jung Hyun from Ceramic Art, Professors Hyun Ji Yeon and Lee Sung Yeol from Metal Art, Professor Myung Yun Kyung from Visual Design, Adjunct Professor Jung Mi Seong from Ceramic Art, and Adjunct Professor Choi Yun Jung from Metal Art). Kookmin University was selected as the implementing institution for both projects, leveraging its accumulated expertise in leading domestic craft education over the past 50 years, its infrastructure enabling online and offline education and content production, and its successful operational experience in the 2021 and 2022 Craft Industry Human Resources Development Projects.

A Kookmin University official stated, stated, “The educational achievements and research capabilities we have built as Korea's premier craft education institution were key criteria for our selection for these two projects.” They added, “The expertise of both departments will serve as the core driving force for Kookmin University to lead the continuous development and industrial expansion of craft culture. We will establish a future-oriented educational system centered on craft, lead domestic and international craft culture and markets, and contribute to enhancing the global standing of Korean craft.”