[Interview] Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District: "We Must Move Away from Central and Metropolitan-Centered Youth Policies"

Nowon-type Youth Policy with 7.3 Billion Investment This Year... Reflecting the Needs and Future Social Environment Changes of 170,000 Youths, Who Make Up 32% of the District's Population, Including Participation, Activities, Life Stability, Rights Protection, and Skill Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “We will make the Nowon-type youth policy a new model for youth policies in South Korea.”

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, said in a recent interview, “Creating a foundation where young people can work and be active is the core of youth policy in the era of decentralization.”

Nowon District is promoting the Nowon-type youth policy with an investment of 7.3 billion KRW this year alone. It reflects the needs of 170,000 young people, who make up 32% of the district’s total population, including their participation and activities, life stability and rights protection, and skill development, as well as anticipated social environmental changes. We directly asked what the ambitious ‘Nowon-type youth policy’ is about.

-What is the main direction of the Nowon-type youth policy?

▲It consists of 58 short- and long-term projects under five core strategies. These five strategies can be divided into ‘job discovery,’ ‘establishment of five safety nets,’ ‘foundation for youth activity ecosystem,’ ‘youth attraction,’ and ‘establishment and stabilization of youth policy implementation system,’ which will lead the 58 projects.

-Jobs are the most urgent issue for young people right now. How does the district plan to provide jobs for youth at the district level?

▲First, we operate the ‘Nowon Youth Job T/F Team’ to discover youth jobs. This is to find region-led projects that meet the needs of young people rather than short-term jobs. A representative project is ‘Job Incubating.’ Specifically, it involves identifying companies that will expand youth employment, providing job-seeking youth with advance information about companies looking to hire, and pre-training those who wish to be employed by those companies. Of course, incentives are provided to participating companies. Additionally, 3.3 billion KRW will be invested in 18 projects, including ‘Youth Startup Support’ and the ‘Nowon-type Employment Creation Project,’ which aims to employ 1,000 people over five years with 200 people annually.

-The strength of young people can be said to be their potential. What plans do you have regarding this?

▲We need to create an ecosystem that supports young people with active willingness to express their voices in the community. We will establish and activate a ‘Youth Space Network’ by installing youth spaces by district zones and conduct public contests through youth participatory budgeting. Also, 370 million KRW will be supported for eight projects such as ‘Youth Activist Training’ and ‘Youth Community Activation,’ where university students develop and research policies to solve local problems through small groups.

-Young people tend to concentrate in urban centers because local infrastructure for them to freely pursue their dreams is lacking. Nowon District’s population is currently declining. Do you have any strategies to attract young people to Nowon?

▲Nowon District has the fifth largest youth population in Seoul. It is also home to the largest number of universities in Seoul, with seven universities. There is abundant potential for youth to gather, but since there are many universities, students tend to come only for commuting. It is important for young people in their early 20s to use Nowon not just as a place to ‘reside’ but as a base for ‘living,’ working, and being active. Projects such as ‘Creating a Youth Culture Street,’ ‘Establishing Nowon Youth Dormitory’ to provide residential spaces, and ‘Campus Town-linked University Activation Project’ in cooperation with local universities are seen as solutions.

-It seems difficult for the district office to handle this alone. What about public-private cooperation systems?

▲Administrative service delivery alone cannot fundamentally solve youth issues. Public and private sectors must cooperate to diagnose and solve problems together. To this end, we will establish a ‘Policy Inspection and Implementation System.’ The ‘Nowon District Youth Policy Committee’ will also operate, with 20 members including ex officio and appointed members reviewing the establishment and evaluation of basic youth policy plans and coordinating related projects. Additionally, a ‘Youth Support Center’ will be established to discover and support necessary needs.

For more structured policies, we have established the basic plan for the Nowon-type youth policy. Last year, we commissioned a research project to the nonprofit organization ‘Youth and Side by Side.’ It targeted 250 young people aged 15 to 39 who live or are active in Nowon, conducting face-to-face surveys and online questionnaires to identify youth concerns.

The survey was divided into a ‘basic survey’ for analyzing youth needs and an ‘in-depth survey’ for discovering policy demands. The basic survey included items such as conditions for personal happiness as perceived by youth, their personal future, feelings of belonging and alienation in daily life, and priorities for youth policies needed in Nowon. The in-depth survey was conducted in an interview format with respondents willing to be active in Nowon, yielding valuable ideas.

-Many young people are struggling and may feel discouraged. Are there measures to address this?

▲Building a social safety net is the most urgent issue. This is to establish a comprehensive social safety net without social exclusion, covering psychological difficulties to housing. We share the district’s lifelong learning education infrastructure so that young people can build their capabilities locally.

First, we will implement the ‘Youth Lifelong Learning Account Support System’ for low-income job seekers. This project encourages participation from many companies and organizations and cooperates with the Education Welfare Foundation. In addition, we plan to solve issues through 24 projects, including ‘Discovering Youth Housing Models,’ ‘Youth Credit Recovery Support Project,’ ‘Providing Youth Culture Vouchers,’ ‘Customized Employment Support for Specialized High Schools,’ and ‘Operating Youth Public Counseling Centers’ to provide ongoing counseling for young people experiencing psychological poverty and depression.

-I understand that Nowon District established a Youth Support Team early last year. Lastly, what is the hope for Nowon’s youth policy?

▲In May last year, we enacted the Nowon District Youth Basic Ordinance, and in December, we held a youth policy town hall meeting at the Seoul Eastern Blood Center auditorium. This was to guarantee youth participation in policy-making and to discover agendas for policy establishment. As I mentioned earlier, in the era of decentralization, we will not remain mere transmitters between central and metropolitan governments but will steadily cultivate our capabilities over time to become a new model for youth policies in South Korea.

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