'Meeting Young Overseas Trainees' Kim Dong-yeon: "Challenge and Face Obstacles Now to Gain Much Experience"

In July and August, young people from Gyeonggi Province who studied abroad at five universities in three countries including the United States, China, and Australia are taking a commemorative photo at the 'Gyeonggi Youth Ladder 1st Generation Growth, Sympathy, and Dialogue' event held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Auditorium on the 16th.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with young people from Gyeonggi who had spent about a month studying abroad at five universities across three countries?the United States, China, and Australia?to share their achievements and growth stories.

On the 16th, Youth Day, Governor Kim attended the ‘Gyeonggi Youth Ladder 1st Cohort Growth, Success, and Dialogue’ event held at the provincial government auditorium. He said, "The Ladder program must have helped you break out of your own mold a little," and added, "I hope you raise your voices not only about Gyeonggi provincial administration but also about various issues facing Korean society today."

He continued, "There are many programs for youth beyond the Ladder program," introducing future youth policies, "For example, we plan to send our young people to overseas companies. Another plan is to send youth volunteer groups abroad."

He also encouraged the participants, saying, "Many people think that since I served as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, everything I did was successful, but that is not the case. There were more failures than successes, and the failures and frustrations I experienced in my youth are still vivid in my memory as if they happened yesterday. Never be discouraged or disappointed. Keep challenging and confronting things with the same spirit you have now and gain many experiences. If you fail, there is always another path."

The event was organized to share the 3-4 week study abroad achievements and growth stories of the participants (called Sadaliz) in the Gyeonggi Youth Ladder program. About 150 people, including Sadaliz, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly members Kim Tae-hee and Kim Do-hoon, and program advisory committee members, attended the event.

The ‘Gyeonggi Youth Ladder Program’ is a flagship youth policy of Governor Kim Dong-yeon’s 8th administration, aimed at providing ‘more equal opportunities’ to young people by supporting overseas university study experiences to help reduce social disparities and offer diverse career development opportunities.

A total of 193 Sadaliz participated in the program: 47 at the University at Buffalo, USA (July 3?28); 39 at the University of Washington, USA (July 10?28); 30 at the University of Sydney, Australia (July 10?28); 30 at the University of Michigan, USA (July 10?August 4); and 47 at Fudan University, China (July 31?August 25).

The young participants watched videos filmed at each university abroad and shared anecdotes with Governor Kim under the theme ‘The Miracle of the Ladder’ about their experiences on site.

Jung Young-rok (28), a participant at the University of Washington, said, "I gave up preparing for law school and joined a marketing company, but through the Youth Ladder experience, I found a new life goal and am currently preparing for a new challenge after resigning."

Kim Na-hyun (21), majoring in nursing, shared, "Meeting foreign friends working in related fields at the University at Buffalo greatly helped me in pursuing my dreams."

Jang Ji-ho (23), a youth preparing for independence and currently enrolled in a master's program in political science, promised, "Through the Youth Ladder program, I will strive to give back to society the benefits I have received."

Gyeonggi Province awarded the Governor’s Commendation to 10 outstanding Youth Ladder participants. The awardees included five university leaders and five outstanding Sadaliz recommended by participants from each university.

Based on this year’s achievements of the Gyeonggi Youth Ladder program, the province plans to expand the number of participants and partner universities next year to provide more young people with opportunities for overseas study.

The ‘Gyeonggi Youth Ladder Program’ was directly designed, advocated, and implemented by Governor Kim Dong-yeon. The program’s core concept of providing overseas study and training opportunities to youth originated from the ‘After U’ program introduced when Kim was president of Ajou University and the ‘Blue Ladder’ national project he proposed during his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. After designing the program, he personally persuaded partner universities through meetings such as the reception with the Australian Ambassador to Korea in February and a business trip to the United States in April this year.

Meanwhile, following the Youth Ladder program, Gyeonggi Province plans to launch the ‘Gyeonggi Youth Overseas Employment and Startup Opportunity Expansion Project’ in November, which offers young people experience at overseas companies. Currently, 100 young participants are being recruited.

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