Seongdong-gu, Why Take the Lead in Supporting Moving for Young Single-Person Households?

Seongdong-gu Youth Single-Person Household Moving Support Service, Production of Wise Seongdong Life Guidebook, and Non-Face-to-Face Video Education 'Online Youth School'... Supporting 15 Youth Projects This Year

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong District, is listening to the opinions of young people at the 'Seongdong Youth Festival' held last year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) is introducing customized policies through direct participation of youth by reflecting the diverse needs of single-person youth households through the ‘2020 Youth Single-Person Household Self-Reliance Support Project’ carried out together with young people.

First, young people moving to Seongdong-gu will receive moving vehicle and manpower support, and will be able to receive the ‘Wise Seongdong Life Introduction’ booklet containing useful information necessary for living as a single-person youth household, such as how to separate and dispose of garbage, where to borrow shared items, and how to use the youth center.

Since last year, the district has been providing moving support services for young single-person households living in one-room apartments with small amounts of moving belongings. After a pilot operation period last year, this year the service is being fully implemented, moving away from the small-scale format of borrowing vehicles from existing welfare facilities to renting dedicated moving vehicles to provide moving services tailored to the schedules of users.

Additionally, a youth ‘Moving Support Service Volunteer Group’ has been formed, where young people who previously received help become volunteers to provide manpower support, operating as a virtuous cycle volunteer model.

Along with this, the district has started producing the ‘Wise Seongdong Life Introduction’ booklet for young people moving into Seongdong-gu. The production team, consisting of six young people active as members of the Seongdong-gu Youth Policy Committee, aims to share useful living information learned while becoming self-reliant in the area. The information booklet includes local public facilities needed by youth such as garbage separation methods, job cafes, library information, and travel information for areas worth visiting for young people new to Seongdong-gu.

Moreover, a ‘Seongdong Youth Living Lab Activity Group’ composed of about 10 young people has been formed to identify problems from youth perspectives, ranging from overall social issues to small inconveniences in daily life, and to launch a research group that finds solutions together with the district. The derived solutions will be further explored through research support for concrete and long-term development plans.

In May, the district will open the ‘Seongdong Youth School’ for young people who find it difficult to receive educational benefits due to work or studies. Due to the impact of COVID-19 making in-person education difficult, it will be operated as a real-time non-face-to-face education ‘Online Youth School’ using video platforms. Programs include △speech education for job seekers and young workers △how to read financial statements essential for working life and time management tips using Excel △financial knowledge that young workers must know △art-tech education that cultivates an appreciation for artworks and provides investment tips.

A district official said, “Since 2018, we have identified the local situation through research on youth single-person households and, in July last year, enacted the nation’s first ordinance on support for youth single-person households. Seongdong-gu is leading the improvement of youth welfare,” adding, “This year, we plan to implement 15 detailed projects in four areas, and will strengthen support measures for youth social network formation and psychological stability, such as opening the ‘Youth Mind Counseling Center,’ operating the social family program ‘Generational Empathy Shared Home-cooked Meals,’ and running shared housing for generational empathy under one roof.”

Young Single-Person Household Moving Support Service

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “In Seongdong-gu, 42% of single-person households are youth aged 19 to 39, with two universities in the area and increasing jobs centered around Seongsu-dong, making it a region with a high influx of youth,” and added, “The youth single-person household project carried out together with young people will resolve social isolation among local youth and invigorate the community through youth participation. We will help young people achieve confident and happy self-reliance through more realistic and concrete measures and implementation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.