Page 79 - U4SSC Case study Daegu, Korea (Republic of), February 2022

7.4.1 Education

Daegu’s performance in the education category
is exemplary. This is to be expected, as schools
have integrated ICTs at all levels of the school
system to foster 21st Century learners. The
goal is to strengthen the 21st Century learner’s
capacity, and in this context, there is a focus on
the 4Cs: Critical thinking and problem-solving;
Collaboration; Character; and Communication.
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Daegu reports 100 per cent ICT access for
students, and a commendable 20 558 higher-
level degrees per 100 000 inhabitants. Adult
literacy is at 99.84 per cent.

Due to a cluster outbreak in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2020, the school year was delayed
initially and online learning was launched for all elementary, middle- and high-school students from
April 2020. To further this, while students performed problem solving through gamification, AI was
used to diagnose the student's level and provide customized learning for weak areas.

7.4.2 Health care

The reported data for health care are excellent, with almost all KPIs being reported at the highest
benchmark levels. Electronic health records are in place for 96.64 per cent of inhabitants, in-patient
hospital beds are an impressive 1 530.59 per 100 000 inhabitants and there is almost universal
health coverage, at 96.72 per cent. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the benefit
of having a sound healthcare system.

7.4.3 Housing

The data submitted by Daegu show that the cost of housing is within a reasonable range for
inhabitants as the expenditure is at 19.10 per cent and there are no informal settlements within
the city.

7.4.4 Safety, preparedness and resilience

Disaster and emergency response are keys to the long-term sustainability and resilience of a city.
Overall, Daegu reports a minor loss of life due to natural disasters (0.12 per 100 000 inhabitants)
and no economic losses. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, disasters can transcend natural
weather events such as flooding. However, there is also the need to have an infrastructure in place
to ensure that public safety is a priority. Daegu reports a police service (228.71 FTE per 100 000

U4SSC Case study | Daegu, Korea (Republic of) | February 2022 61