Dunamu’s Upclass Junior to Resume on Aug. 18; Digital Finance Awareness Rises Sixfold

Dunamu has completed the first-half session of Upclass Junior, its digital finance education program for teenagers, and will begin the second-half schedule on Aug. 18.

Upclass Junior is the youth track of Upclass, Upbit’s age-tailored financial education program, Dunamu said on Aug. 14. The program was rebranded from Duniverse, which launched in May 2022, and is designed to improve teenagers’ understanding of digital finance and new technologies including blockchain.

This year, Dunamu plans to provide the program to 12,636 students at 70 schools nationwide across the first and second halves. The program has expanded from 25 schools and 5,280 students in 2022 to 29 schools and 6,824 students in 2023, 40 schools and 7,600 students in 2024, and 50 schools and 9,514 students in 2025. By the end of 2026, cumulative participation is set to reach 41,854 students at 214 schools across South Korea.

Satisfaction with the first-half program was high. In a survey of teachers at 62 participating schools, overall satisfaction was 96%, while 94% said they would take part again next year. Among respondents, 98% said the program helped improve students’ basic understanding of digital finance.

Student surveys conducted before and after the program also showed marked gains in awareness. The share of students who said they understood digital finance rose to 78.1% after the program from 13.6% before it. Understanding of investment products increased to 83.5% from 28.7%, while understanding of blockchain’s real-world applications climbed to 83% from 15.7%. Understanding of types of financial fraud and how to prevent them also rose to 91.7% from 56.2%.

Upclass Junior covers the basic principles of stocks and digital assets, investment risk management and asset allocation, and includes mock investment exercises. The curriculum also includes concepts related to artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain, along with career exploration tied to those fields.

The program aims to help prevent teenage speculation and new forms of financial crime while supporting students as they grow into independent economic actors, a Dunamu official said. The company will start the second-half program on Aug. 18 and also plans to offer separate financial literacy classes for high school seniors after the national college entrance exam.