Haenam-gun Accelerates Creation of a 'Vibrant Youth Empathy City'

Published 16 Dec.2021 14:44(KST)

Expansion of Youth Platforms Including Haenam Youth DoDream Center, Remarkable Growth in Youth Startups

Young entrepreneurs are receiving training. ? Asia Economy

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, is transforming the area around Haenamcheon into a youth street, centered on the Youth Dodream Center, which opened last August.

According to the county on the 16th, the Haenam Youth Dodream Center plays a vital role as a platform sharing various information, including customized youth courses under the themes of Mind Dodream, Daily Dodream, and Employment Dodream, as well as job counseling and employment support through a job cafe.

Various youth club activities such as film clubs are being organized, and active communication is taking place through SNS with programs like ‘Today’s Youth,’ which interviews local young people, drawing attention as a cultural space created by the youth themselves.

Near the Youth Dodream Center, a shared kitchen and shared office have been established as a youth dining startup platform to support youth entrepreneurship.

The shared kitchen is a space where young people who find it difficult to invest in startup costs can jointly use facilities and gain practical experience in entrepreneurship. The building housing the shared kitchen also contains four shared offices and the Haenam Social Community Support Center, supporting youth interaction and communication.

With the establishment of youth-based facilities, a Youth Harmony Festival, planned and promoted directly by young people, was held in November near the Haenam Youth Dodream Center and the Haenamcheon area.

The youth festival, held for the first time in Haenam, was filled with fresh ideas from young people such as flea markets, tent zones, and busking performances, successfully concluding with high interest and participation not only from youth but also from nearby residents.

Since the launch of the 7th local government, Haenam-gun has proactively responded to the population extinction crisis by establishing the Population Policy Division in 2019 and has been actively promoting revitalization policies to attract and support the settlement of young people, the driving force of the future.

Since 2018, the youth startup support project has been implemented in various forms, including offline startup support and, in line with the untact era brought by COVID-19, web seller startup support for online store startups.

Youth startups, which began with five people in 2018, achieved great results with 39 young people successfully starting businesses by 2020. This year, with a project budget of 800 million won, opportunities were provided to a total of 34 young people, including 13 startup entrepreneurs, 8 web seller startups, and 13 crowdfunding startups.

Along with this, the county started the Haenam-type youth housing cost support project last year, providing 100,000 won monthly for housing costs, and this year launched the youth community activation support project, which supports youth group activity expenses, receiving great responses.

Next year, the county plans to significantly expand new policies to improve the settlement conditions of local youth, including support for youth startup spaces, repair and housing cost support for temporary youth housing, and the Jeonnam Youth Culture Welfare Card project.

County Governor Myung Hyun-kwan said, “This year, with the establishment of the Haenam Youth Dodream Center and shared kitchen, a foundation was laid for active youth activities, and various youth support policies have been continuously promoted. We will continue to actively strive to create a region where young people want to visit, stay, and live by constantly considering their perspectives and implementing new policies.”