Naju-si Develops 'Youth Startup Street' in Original Downtown Area... Operating 16 Stores

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 17th that it has recently completed the ‘Youth Startup Street Development Project’ utilizing vacant stores on the Wondosim Eupseong area streets, and 16 stores have opened and are operating.

The development of the youth startup street in the old downtown has been promoted through last year’s selection in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Community-led Youth Job Project’ contest.

Earlier, since April, the city conducted a public recruitment and evaluated the suitability, sustainability, determination, and creativity of applicants through document and interview screenings, finally selecting 16 young entrepreneurs as project participants.

Through this, a total of 845 million KRW (319 million KRW national funds, 526 million KRW city funds) will be invested by 2021 to support young entrepreneurs with business remodeling, store leasing, promotion, and consulting costs.

The youth startup street was established along approximately a 1 km section of the Eupseong area ‘Seoseongmun - Geumnamgil - Geumseonggwan-gil - Najuro’.

Various and distinctive stores infused with the fresh ideas and passion of young entrepreneurs are operating.

The 16 stores’ business types consist of 8 cultural and artistic creation locations such as woodworking, character art products, horticulture, diffusers, and Korean traditional music community; 5 food-related stores including galbitang (beef rib soup), cafes, and bakeries; and 3 clothing and miscellaneous goods stores such as wedding, kitchen picnic, and baby clothes.

The opening ceremony, originally scheduled for the 15th, has been tentatively postponed to after the 25th due to the extension of social distancing level 2 measures to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19.

Mayor Kang In-gyu said, “This youth startup street development is expected to greatly contribute not only to youth job creation but also to tourism and economic revitalization specialized in the historical and cultural resources of the Eupseong area,” and added, “We will actively promote so that young entrepreneurs can establish themselves competitively and stably in the local commercial district.”

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