Opening of Nowon-gu Youth Store No. 1 and No. 2

Nowon Math and Literature Museum, Nowon Culture and Arts Center Open Youth Store on 1st Floor... Nowon-style Youth Startup Support with Rent Reduction Benefits... Interior, Startup Consulting, Marketing, Mentoring Services Provided to Tenant Youth

Nowon Math Culture Center Youth Shop Vamos Espresso

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “Since I was able to realize my dream of starting a business with a small capital, I will sell delicious and high-quality beverages at affordable prices so that customers can enjoy them without worrying about the price.” - Operator of Nowon-gu Youth Store No. 1 -

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok)'s youth stores held an opening ceremony on February 2nd, marking their beginning amid the interest and support of local residents.

Youth stores are part of a youth startup support project that provides spaces for startups within public facilities and supports caf? interior design and equipment installation.

The two youth stores that opened this time are ‘Vamos Espresso’ at Nowon Math Culture Center in Junggye 4-dong and ‘Ghost Cookie’ on the first floor of Nowon Culture and Arts Center in Junggye Bon-dong.

Last year, the district reduced rent by 50% to ease the biggest obstacle to youth startups, the burden of rent. The first store was set at an annual rent of about 9 million KRW, and the second store at about 3 million KRW, with the possibility of extending the operation period up to two years depending on performance, recruiting entrepreneurs accordingly.

The first and second youth stores, the first step of the Nowon-type youth startup support project, were selected from 18 teams through a first document screening and a second interview screening, overcoming a competition rate of 9:1. Interior construction was completed last year, necessary equipment for operation was purchased, and consulting and mentoring education were provided to the youth store operators. After the education ended, consignment contracts were signed, pilot operations were conducted, and the stores officially opened in February.

Nowon-gu’s youth startup support is meaningful in that it not only reduces rent but also simultaneously provides practical education such as basic training in tax and accounting, consulting, and mentoring. Instead of blindly guiding young people, who may have brilliant ideas but fear failure and find it difficult to start, into entrepreneurship, it minimizes their risks and provides opportunities to gain sufficient experience and operational know-how.

The operator of Youth Store No. 2, Ghost Cookie, said, “I got the chance to operate before actually starting a business,” and expressed the aspiration, “Since I received a lot of support from the district, rather than focusing on sales profits, I want to make healthy cookies and become a store that brings happiness to customers.”

Nowon-gu plans to expand various support projects to provide startup opportunities for local youth in the future. In addition to public facilities, the district will directly lease private commercial spaces to increase youth startup spaces and actively support them in connection with university startup incubation centers in the region.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Although it has become very difficult for young people to find jobs or start businesses due to COVID-19, even small-scale startups can succeed if young people add differentiated ideas and marketing,” and added, “We will actively work on creating a startup foundation and support measures so that young people dreaming of entrepreneurship can demonstrate their abilities and passion in Nowon.”

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