Dunamu Helps Adolescents Tell the Difference between Blockchain and Bitcoin
Dunamu, the fintech company operating South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, announced on Thursday that its digital finance education program designed to help foster talent in digital finance amidst the current era of digitization and fintech has come to an end.
Empowering digital finance literacy for the future generation
Dubbed “Duniverse” — a portmanteau of Dunamu and universe — the program was held from May to July for 4,100 middle school students throughout Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon. The curriculum proved to enhance their understanding and literacy in digital finance.
“Digital finance education for adolescents is essential in addressing various social issues, such as preventing financial accidents and income polarization,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu.
The first Duniverse program was held last year, hosting some 4,800 middle school students in vulnerable areas of Gyeonggi Province. Owing to the positive response, this year’s pool has been expanded to over 7,000 first-year middle school students in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon. In the first half of this year alone, a total of 4,120 students from 17 middle schools participated.
The program featured lessons on the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as blockchain, NFTs, and metaverse, as well as basic financial knowledge. A total of eight sessions were led by a team of qualified instructors with years of experience in economic education. Dunamu employees also directly contributed to the review process of educational materials, the company said.
Success recognized by students and teachers alike
In a survey conducted by Dunamu targeting 435 participants, 93.1 percent of them expressed high satisfaction, stating that their understanding of digital finance improved. This portrays a meaningful upgrade from the answers of a previous survey conducted before the start of the program, where six out of ten respondents said that they had little knowledge about digital finance.
They also reported that they now understand the difference between digital asset ownership and copyrights as well as blockchain and Bitcoin, and show interest when coming across digital finance-related content in the media.
School teachers also praised the program for addressing blind spots in financial education and taking a proactive learning approach. “The students were able to learn about big data, ChatGPT, and more, which is especially valuable since such education for teenagers is still lacking. I believe it will help boost their competitiveness in the future job market,” said a teacher from Goam Middle School in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.
The teachers also approved of other topics that were covered, such as financial fraud prevention, to help teenagers avoid falling victim to financial scams. Suggestions were also made to expand teacher training courses.
Upcoming program
This year’s second Duniverse program will be held from August to December for 2,712 middle school students in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon.
Dunamu has continually devoted efforts to boosting social welfare and nurturing young talent. This includes “Dunamu Next Steppers,” a hope fund for young people with multiple debts, along with supporting emerging talents and artists with developmental disabilities in their participation in NFT projects.
