Koryo Town's 'Best Socks in Japan' Become Peace Education Tools Connecting Nepal to the World

The nonprofit organization Nakayoshi Gakuen Project visited Koryo Town Hall in Nara Prefecture on July 9, 2026, to report to Mayor Hiroyuki Yoshimura and town staff about its educational support and peace exchange activities conducted in Lumbini Province, Nepal.

Presentation ceremony held at Koryo Town Hall

Nakayoshi Gakuen has long promoted Japan's manufacturing culture, regional strength, and commitment to peace worldwide through Koryo Town's proud local industry—'Koryo socks.' During their Nepal activities, they paid a courtesy visit to Omsatiya Rural Municipality in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, presenting Koryo Town's socks to Village Chief Manjeet Yadav and Administrative Chief Krishna Prasad Panthi. They introduced how Japanese education and manufacturing nurture regional industries and support people's livelihoods and peace. In Nakayoshi Gakuen's Nepal activity report, the socks from Koryo Town, Nara Prefecture, are recognized as one of the teaching materials used to introduce 'Japanese manufacturing.' In past activities, they have also introduced the technical capabilities and craftsmanship spirit of Japan's regional industries through Koryo Town's specialty product, 'Koryo socks.'

Koryo socks handed over to Lumbini Province, Nepal Educational support activities conducted in Nepal

Activity photos from Nepal

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On the same day, Maikagami First Elementary School in Koryo Town hosted a 'Learning Connected to the World' lecture by Nakayoshi Gakuen. Students learned about the organization's past peace activities in Syria, Nepal, and how Koryo Town's socks have been introduced globally.

Additionally, students from Maikagami First Elementary School entrusted Nakayoshi Gakuen with 'Koryo socks' dyed using eggplant peels as part of their SDGs learning. These socks will be used as classroom teaching materials in countries and regions where Nakayoshi Gakuen conducts future activities.

Connecting Koryo Town's local resources to global learning

Koryo Town is nationally known as a sock-producing region. This initiative does not merely promote the local industry as a specialty product but uses it as a teaching tool to convey 'regional pride,' 'Japanese manufacturing,' and 'empathy for others' to the world.

What Nakayoshi Gakuen values is not just material aid. They believe in a cyclical model where items created by Japanese children through local learning reach the world, are used in local children's education, and the responses return once again to Japanese schools. Nakayoshi Gakuen calls this cyclical learning model the 'CoRe Loop.'

The socks dyed by students from Maikagami First Elementary School are a perfect example of this CoRe Loop in action. By learning about Koryo Town's local industry, considering materials and the environment from an SDGs perspective, and dyeing the socks themselves, their learning reaches children worldwide and becomes teaching material for international understanding and peace education.

Nakayoshi Gakuen's CoRe Loop

Nakayoshi Gakuen's 'Learning Connected to the World' activity model

Presenting Koryo Town's socks to Nepalese municipalities

In the Nepal activities reported at Koryo Town Hall, Nakayoshi Gakuen collaborated with Omsatiya Rural Municipality, Rohini Rural Municipality, and others in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, to provide school education support.

The activities included diverse lessons such as science experiments, disaster prevention education, WASH and hygiene education, peace education, human rights education, and Japanese cultural experiences. Teaching materials created by children from schools and communities across Japan were used in Nepalese schools, Muslim educational institutions, and madrasas.

Among these, Koryo Town's socks were directly presented to municipal leaders during the courtesy visit to Omsatiya Rural Municipality. Through the Koryo socks, Nakayoshi Gakuen introduced the long-cultivated technology, quality, and user-centered craftsmanship of Japan's regional industries.

Local municipal officials gave high praise for Nakayoshi Gakuen's educational support activities and expressed hopes for continued collaboration.

Educational support activities conducted in Nepal Educational support activities conducted in Nepal Educational support activities conducted in Nepal Educational support activities conducted in Nepal

Holding the 'Learning Connected to the World' lecture at Maikagami First Elementary School

On the same day as the courtesy visit, Maikagami First Elementary School held a 'Learning Connected to the World' lecture by Nakayoshi Gakuen's Representative Director, Yuichi Nakamura.

During the lecture, students were informed about how Koryo Town's socks were introduced in Nepalese municipalities, the learning environments of children around the world, and how Japanese elementary students' learning contributes to global educational support.

Students learned that their town's sock industry is being utilized for peace and educational activities in distant countries, gaining a real sense of how local learning connects to the world.

The moment when students entrusted socks dyed with eggplant peels as part of their SDGs learning to Nakayoshi Gakuen became a symbolic moment where local specialty products, environmental education, and international cooperation converged.

'Learning Connected to the World' lecture held in Koryo Town

'Gift to the World' entrusted by Maikagami First Elementary School students

Presenting tokens of peace exchange from Nepal at Koryo Town Hall

During the activity report at Koryo Town Hall, Nakayoshi Gakuen presented the traditional Nepalese cloth 'Kata' received in Nepal to Mayor Hiroyuki Yoshimura, conveying the gratitude and friendship expressed from the local community to Koryo Town.

Presentation of the Kata gifted from Lumbini Province, Nepal

Additionally, during their visit to Omsatiya Rural Municipality in Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, Nepal, Nakayoshi Gakuen introduced the commemorative shield presented to them by the local municipality. This shield was gifted as a token of appreciation for Nakayoshi Gakuen's educational support activities in the Lumbini region and for their peace exchanges utilizing Japan's regional resources.

Nakayoshi Gakuen presenting the commemorative shield

Koryo Town's socks were directly presented during meetings with Village Chief Manjeet Yadav and Administrative Chief Krishna Prasad Panthi of the same municipality. Nakayoshi Gakuen introduced the technology, quality, and user-centered craftsmanship spirit of Japan's regional industries through the Koryo socks.

Koryo Town's socks convey Japan's industrial strength and promote peace exchanges with countries worldwide

The presentation ceremony at Koryo Town Hall returned the gratitude and outcomes of exchanges born in Nepal directly to the people of Koryo Town. This event symbolized Nakayoshi Gakuen's cherished 'CoRe Loop' educational model—sending Japan's regional learning to the world and bringing global responses back to Japan.

Using sock production waste as educational materials: Exploring global use of 'sock origami'

During this courtesy visit, Koryo Town introduced a new initiative: 'sock origami' made from waste materials generated during sock production.

'Sock origami' is an educational tool that reuses materials from the sock production process, allowing children to develop creativity and environmental awareness through hands-on activities. Nakayoshi Gakuen has previously used origami, matching cards, handmade teaching materials, science experiment kits, and disaster prevention materials in schools worldwide, offering low-cost, reproducible