[Interview] Park Junhee, Gwanak-gu Mayor: "We Will Build a City Where Youth Achieve Their Dreams"

Nation's First 'Youth Culture Bureau' Established, Creating a Role Model for Youth Policies Leading Local Governments Nationwide... 'Gwanak Youth Center' to Serve as a Comprehensive Youth Policy Hub, Scheduled for Completion This Year... Advancing to the Next Level with Quality Jobs and Talented Youth through Gwanak S-Valley 2.0

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Youth are the driving force of the nation’s growth and the protagonists of the future. The 8th term of the Gwanak District government aims to focus on ‘youth,’ the future of Gwanak, to pursue the happy lives of its residents.”

In an interview, Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District, stated, “Reflecting the district’s characteristic of having the highest youth population ratio nationwide, we plan to establish the country’s first ‘Youth Culture Bureau’ to implement more focused and systematic policies encompassing both ‘youth’ and ‘culture.’”

Gwanak District ranks first in the nation with a youth population ratio of 41%. Accordingly, since the launch of the 7th term, the district uniquely established the ‘Youth Policy Division,’ exclusively responsible for youth affairs among basic local governments at the district level nationwide, and has been implementing specialized youth policies unique to Gwanak.

Great efforts have been made to support and expand safety, employment, housing, finance, and activity spaces. In particular, with a total project cost of 13 billion KRW, the ‘Gwanak Youth Center,’ a space for youth with a total floor area of 1,528.86㎡ and spanning from basement level 1 to the 7th floor above ground, is being pushed forward for completion this year.

The ‘Gwanak Youth Center’ plans to establish itself as a hub for comprehensive youth policies, providing employment, jobs, culture, welfare, psychological counseling, and community support to young people facing various social issues such as career interruptions, employment difficulties, and housing problems.

So far, the district has worked hard to create spaces for youth. The ‘Sillim-dong Three-Room,’ operating since 2019, serves as a cultural activity space for youth, while the ‘Gwancheon-ro Cultural Platform S1472’ and ‘Media Center Gwanak,’ opened last year, have received positive responses as communication channels through art and media.

Mayor Park said, “Once the Gwanak Youth Center is completed, we plan to recruit a Youth Center Director so that young people can directly discover and operate policies. We will properly set the stage for youth to fully express their creativity and spirit of challenge, continuously trying new initiatives to create a role model for youth policies leading local governments nationwide, starting from Gwanak.” He reaffirmed his determination to leap forward as a ‘Youth Special City.’

Along with expanding communication spaces with youth, the district will also spare no effort in implementing cooperative governance with youth by listening to their voices through operating youth public forums, supporting youth club activities, and running community classes for single-person youth households.

For youth to express diverse voices, fundamental policies to improve their quality of life, such as jobs, housing, and welfare, must be supported. Accordingly, the district plans to concentrate administrative efforts to operate existing projects more efficiently, including locally led youth job projects, supply of youth housing near transit stations, and financial support for low-income groups.

Building on the achievements of the 7th term, such as establishing the ‘Gwanak S-Valley’ foundation and designating a ‘Venture Business Promotion Zone,’ the 8th term plans to promote ‘Gwanak S-Valley 2.0’ to realize a Korean-style Silicon Valley and further grow Gwanak’s economy.

Under the name ‘Gwanak S-Valley 2.0,’ the goal is to attract more than 1,000 venture companies, which is expected to increase quality jobs and continuously attract excellent young talent, providing Gwanak District with new momentum for further growth.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District, stated, “Gwanak District and youth share many similarities in having infinite potential. Moving forward, alongside completing an innovative economic city, we will create ‘Gwanak, a city where youth achieve their dreams’ through strong youth support policies.”

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