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The Dawning Era of Drones... Fostering Future Drone Pilots

Published : Aug 3, 2026 12:36 PM

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[Anchor]

Drones rescuing missing persons and delivering fried chicken are no longer stories from the distant future. As drones weave deeply into our daily lives, many children still lack the opportunity to even touch one. A special drone class has opened for these very children.

Reporting from KNN, Ok Min-ji.

[Reporter]

A drone takes off powerfully, cutting across the sea.

Shortly after landing, the cargo carried by the drone is freshly fried chicken.

Deep in mountains surrounded by trees on all sides, it searches for missing persons, and out at sea, it detects tuna schools dozens of kilometers away.

While drones are growing into a core industry that will shoulder the future, many children lack the opportunity to experience them due to various circumstances.

In response, a young startup in Busan and a private welfare organization have joined hands to provide drone education for children.

Children who were initially awkward with their first-time drone controls soon adapt and fly them with ease.

[Ha Mi-rae and Park Ji-yu / 3rd graders at Busan Deokpo Elementary School: (At first) it hit the wall and flipped over, so it didn't work well. (I'm going to practice hard from now on so I can fly drones well too.)]

They also take on the challenge of a unique sports match using drones.

As you can see, a drone soccer match is currently underway here.

Putting this drone into the goal instead of a soccer ball scores a point.

Drone soccer, which originated in South Korea, has evolved into a World Cup in which some 30 countries around the world participate.

This education is expected to help nurture future drone talent as well as expand the base of drone sports in Busan.

[Noh Hyo-seok / CEO of Youngsil Space, a Busan young startup: Drone arenas tend to be very expensive, hard to move around, and inconvenient, but by (providing experience spaces) where they can come two or three times a week after school to learn, and (later) form soccer teams...]

Drones, which once felt so unfamiliar, are now becoming the new dreams of children.

(Video by Oh Won-seok, KNN)