South Korea promoted its education prowess at the World Education Forum 2015 on Tuesday, gathering education-related experts and officials from over 100 countries, hosted at the westernmost city of Incheon.

The forum, organized by the Korean Education Ministry and U.N. agencies, brought together over 1,500 education-related officials to discuss how to make quality education accessible for people of all ages.

At the opening ceremony held in the afternoon, President Park Geun-hye urged the international society to join efforts in expanding educational opportunities.

“Education is the foundation of an individual‘s growth and a country’s development. The so-called miracle of Han River came from education,” Park said, referring to South Korea’s rapid economic development after the Korean War (1950-53). “I urge all countries to place efforts not only for the education within their own countries, but for the growth and education of all learners in the world.”

Other speakers included U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

In his speech, Ban said it was “unacceptable” that 57 million school-age children are unable to attend school, and urged the participants to pool their efforts to provide education opportunities for women, children, minorities, physically challenged and those in conflict-ridden regions.

The WEF 2015 will continue through Friday at Songdo Convensia in Songdo, Incheon.

In the process of discussing the universal education values ― such as lifelong learning, vocational training and education ― Korean officials were set to use the opportunity to promote the country’s efforts on enhancing the education system and the role education played in country’s vast economic development.

One of the plenary sessions to be held on Wednesday will be under the topic of “Education drives development.”

Korea Education Development Institute chief Baek Sun-geun will present a special lecture on how education became the driving force behind the country’s economic development in the mid- to late 20th century, organizers said.

Kim’s presentation will be followed by panel discussions ― including U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs and Korea University president Yeom Jae-ho -― on the direction of the future of education and on education’s role in a country’s development as indicated by Korea.

On Friday, foreign participants will visit five schools in Incheon and one each in Seoul and Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, respectively. The schools were picked by the respective education offices for their curriculum.

For example, Incheon Hannuri Multicultural School was chosen for its various programs that support students from multicultural families. Bukincheon Girls’ Middle School was selected as a case study of Korea’s flagship “free semester” policy, which exempts first-year middle school students from tests for a semester and allows them to try out various vocational experiences instead.

“Introducing these classes will be a great opportunity to let the world know the excellence of Korean education,” said an official from Incheon education office.

But the biggest international education event in Korea to date also came with backlash, as some civic groups criticized the Korean government for attempting to whitewash conflicts within the education circles.

The Education Ministry, for instance, is currently at a standoff with liberal local education chiefs over financing the free child care program. The government revoking the legal status of local progressive teachers’ group Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union also remains a hotly debated issue.

The KTU’s Incheon branch accused the ministry of discriminating against groups that are not favorable toward the government. “Ironically, while preparing an event to discuss the direction the world education, (the ministry) did not even ask the teachers’ union in their own country to participate,” the KTU said in a statement.

The KTU and seven other civic groups held a joint press conference outside of the WEF 2015 venue and blasted the government for “concealing the devastating state of Korean education and just focusing on praising itself.”

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)