Gwanak-gu Supports Youth Dreams with '3-Color Support' for Jobs, Places to Stand, and Play

Accelerating Nakseong Venture Valley Development... Operating Public Job Creation and Various Employment Skills Enhancement Programs... Specialized Projects Including Sillim-dong Three-Room, 2030 Mental Health Guardians, and Youth Tenant Brokerage Fee Reduction Services

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) is a young city with the highest youth population ratio in the country at 40.5%, attracting outstanding talents nationwide centered around Seoul National University.

The district is implementing specialized youth projects in various fields such as ▲Jobs (employment and startups) ▲Places to stand (activity spaces) ▲Places to play (culture and arts) to support the dreams of these young people and create an environment where they can freely pursue their aspirations.

◆Jobs (Employment and Startups)

Gwanak-gu is promoting the ‘Nakseong Venture Valley Development Project’ on approximately 450,000㎡ of land (T-shaped) around the back gate of Seoul National University and Nakseongdae area to create a venture startup city where talented individuals can stay, work, and start businesses locally.

Prior to this, in March, the district opened three startup spaces that will serve as hubs for Nakseong Venture Valley (Nakseong Venture Startup Center, Nakseong Venture Startup Center R&D Branch, and Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch).

A total of 15 promising startups have moved into the Nakseong Venture Startup Center and R&D Branch, growing businesses in various fields such as education, eco-friendliness, smart home care, and dementia prevention. The district provides affordable workspaces to resident companies and supports programs to strengthen startup capabilities, demo days, consulting, and investment attraction opportunities.

Additionally, on the basement first floor of Nakseongdae (Gang Gamchan) Station on Subway Line 2, the ‘Seoul Startup Cafe Nakseongdae Branch’ operates, where any citizen can participate in startup networking, consulting, and education.

Gwanak-gu plans to create two additional startup spaces, including the tentative Gwanak Startup Center, in the Nakseongdae area in the second half of this year, offering residency benefits to 15 startup companies.

Furthermore, through local community service sector private jobs such as locally led youth jobs and youth New Deal jobs providing practical experience in public administration, the district offers young people opportunities to gain work experience and build careers.

Moreover, various programs support youth employment, including ‘Youth Employment Support Special Lectures and Mentoring’ that assist employment at domestic small and medium enterprises and global companies, ‘Youth Dream Gwanak Camp’ where young people can receive employment mentoring from current employees of large corporations, and ‘Youth Employment Support Project with KB Good Job’ in partnership with KB Financial Public Welfare Foundation to enhance employment capabilities.

◆Places to Stand (Activity Spaces)

Gwanak-gu operates ‘Sillim-dong Three Room (Sillim-ro 91, 3rd floor),’ a youth activity space free for any young person to use.

‘Sillim-dong Three Room’ is a youth activity space consisting of rest areas (living room, study), shared spaces (meeting room, workshop), counseling rooms, and office spaces. Here, young people can hold meetings or various events and share and exchange information on common interests such as employment, housing, and daily life.

Additionally, the district is developing the ‘Gwanak Youth Center,’ a seven-story building above ground and one basement floor, by purchasing an old building near Bongcheon Station (1759 Nambusunhwan-ro).

The ‘Gwanak Youth Center’ aims to be a comprehensive youth activity hub providing employment, jobs, welfare, life and psychological counseling, and community support services to young people facing social issues such as employment difficulties and housing costs, with completion targeted for September 2021.

◆Places to Play (Culture and Arts)

Gwanak-gu operates various cultural and artistic classes at ‘Sillim-dong Three Room,’ including life lectures on employment preparation and housing management, as well as health and mental care, dance, reading sessions, and meditation.

Also, the district holds the ‘Gwanak Youth Festival’ once a year in the Gwanak-gu Office plaza area, featuring a variety of attractions and entertainment. The ‘Gwanak Youth Festival’ is designed as a space for youth to relieve life stress and enjoy exchanges through exhibitions and planning, culture and performances, youth markets, and youth healing programs.

In addition, Gwanak-gu supports the stable and happy lives of young people in many ways, such as the ‘2030 Mental Health Keeper Project,’ which provides professional psychological counseling for the 2030 youth group with high stress levels due to employment and exam preparation, and the ‘Youth Tenant Brokerage Fee Reduction Service Project’ to ease the housing cost burden for young people.

Mayor Park Junhee stated, “We will spare no support in various areas such as jobs, housing, and culture so that outstanding talents gathered from across the country can settle in Gwanak-gu and achieve their dreams.”

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