Gwangju Seo-gu Opens Youth Startup Support 'START UP center'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 27th that the ‘START UP center,’ which will serve as a youth startup hub, will open at Nongsung Station on the 31st.

The center, covering an area of 248㎡, consists of five independent offices for young entrepreneurs, a startup caf? serving as a communication space and resting area for youth, a studio for product photography, conference and business rooms, and study rooms.

At the center, startup specialists will be stationed to provide all information related to startups in one place, including startup education, field-specific mentoring, and guidance on startup funds from various ministries, helping young (prospective) entrepreneurs succeed in their ventures.

In particular, the conference and business rooms will be open at all times to host various seminars, as well as special lectures on making daily necessities and expert training courses for the general public, operating not only as a youth startup space but also as a lifestyle-oriented creative space.

Additionally, Seo-gu has installed the first non-face-to-face recruitment interview kiosk among autonomous districts in Gwangju.

Job seekers can select desired companies and conduct non-face-to-face interviews without time constraints. Along with the establishment of AI and VR interview experience rooms, professional career counselors will provide employment consultations on an ongoing basis.

Meanwhile, Gwangju Urban Railway Corporation created a youth startup platform at Nongsung Station in 2018 to support office spaces for young entrepreneurs with limited financial resources, operating it solely as a residential space for young entrepreneurs.

After Seo-gu was selected as the second operator of the youth startup platform last October, it invested about 280 million KRW to fully remodel the space and newly establish the Seo-gu START UP center as a youth startup hub to provide more practical and systematic support for youth startups.

Seo Daeseok, Mayor of Seo-gu, said, “We plan to operate the Seo-gu START UP center in connection with the job caf? ‘Youth Emission Workshop’ and the AI startup camp being established at the former Gwangju Small and Medium Business Administration building, making it a hub institution for youth employment and startups in the region.” He added, “We will do our best to promote various policies so that young people can settle in the region and live stable lives.”

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