Minister Jeong Young-ae Listens to Voices of Out-of-School and At-Risk Youth

Visit to Chuncheon Kkumdeulim Center and Youth Counseling Welfare Center
Meeting with Out-of-School Youth and Field Workers Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] To mark Youth Month in May, Jung Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, will visit the Chuncheon City Out-of-School Youth Support Center (hereinafter ‘Kkumdeulim Center’) and Chuncheon City Youth Counseling and Welfare Center on the afternoon of the 3rd to listen to the stories of youth and field workers.

Minister Jung will first visit the Chuncheon City Kkumdeulim Center to meet out-of-school youth participating in career and vocational programs, hear about the difficulties they face in the career preparation process, and gather opinions related to policies.

The Chuncheon City Kkumdeulim Center was selected in 2020 for the ‘Out-of-School Youth Dedicated Space Creation Project’ supported by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and operates learning, vocational experience, and cultural spaces for out-of-school youth.

The Out-of-School Youth Dedicated Space Creation Project is a program that supports budgets for creating spaces where out-of-school youth can engage in various activities such as learning, career exploration, and vocational education. It collects opinions from out-of-school youth using the center and reflects them in the design. The dedicated spaces can be arranged as book cafes, workshops, vocational experience areas, learning, or creative spaces, with 100 million KRW supported per location. Last year, 20 locations were established, and as of April this year, 14 additional locations were selected.

Furthermore, Minister Jung will visit the Chuncheon City Youth Counseling and Welfare Center, which provides integrated services including counseling, treatment, academic support, and self-reliance support for at-risk youth, in light of recent school violence incidents, to review the current status of support for at-risk youth.

Since 2017, the Chuncheon City Youth Counseling and Welfare Center has been operating a guidance program (Love Classroom) targeting youth offenders such as school violence perpetrators and juvenile delinquents in cooperation with the Chuncheon City Police Agency. Up to last year, 66 youths have completed the guidance program. The center also collaborates with nearby elementary, middle, and high schools to operate group counseling aimed at improving peer relationships and self-esteem among students, making efforts to prevent school violence.

Minister Jung Young-ae of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said, "As COVID-19 prolongs, youth issues such as increased depression, school violence, and bullying in cyberspace are becoming increasingly complex and serious, making cooperation among related ministries and youth support organizations more important than ever. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will also spare no policy support to ensure that all youth, regardless of the environment inside or outside school, are thoroughly protected and supported and can dream of a bright future."

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