Chuncheon Launches Youth-Friendly City Promotion Team... Young People Take the Lead in Policymaking

Chuncheon City Launches Youth-Friendly City Promotion Team at Multipurpose Conference Room
Promotion Team Begins Full-Scale Activities: Policy Proposals, Anchor Project Discovery, and Brand Development
Laying Policy Groundwork for Application for Youth-Friendly City Designation by the Office for Government Policy Coordination

On September 18, Chuncheon City in Gangwon Province (Mayor Yook Donghan) launched the "Youth-Friendly City Promotion Team," in which young people directly participate, marking the beginning of full-scale efforts to create a city where young people can thrive.

Yook Donghan, mayor of Chuncheon, is taking a commemorative photo with participants after launching the "Youth-Friendly City Promotion Team," where young people directly participate, on the 18th. Provided by Chuncheon City

The promotion team will carry out a variety of initiatives until the end of this year, including a policy idea contest, the discovery of anchor projects, the development of a youth-friendly brand, and promotional campaigns linked to social media. Through these efforts, the city aims to supplement existing youth policies and develop new models that reflect local characteristics, thereby increasing policy effectiveness.

At the event held in the city hall's multipurpose conference room on this day, Mayor Yook Donghan presented awards to outstanding young people and handed out appointment certificates to the promotion team members. Mayor Yook stated, "Youth-led policy participation will become Chuncheon's future competitive edge," adding, "The city will also work with renewed commitment alongside young people to create a city where people want to stay and live."

During the subsequent orientation, the research agency explained the direction of the promotion team's activities, and the members discussed future plans and exchanged ideas.

A youth-friendly city is defined as a city that provides a favorable environment and growth opportunities for young people, based on their active participation. The Office for Government Policy Coordination’s Youth Policy Planning Division oversees the program, annually evaluating the performance of youth policies, the process of gathering opinions, and future plans, and selecting three cities, counties, or districts each year. Chuncheon City has formed the promotion team to lay the groundwork for its bid to be designated this year.

Prior to the launch ceremony, the promotion team conducted a "Youth Policy Status Survey" in September to reflect the voices of Chuncheon’s youth and to assess the current state of youth policies.

As of September 18, approximately 260 young people had responded to the survey. According to the results, 55.9% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Chuncheon City’s youth policies, and 68% were satisfied with the city’s residential environment.

In addition, when asked about the areas Chuncheon City should focus on to become a youth-friendly city, 52.5% of young respondents cited job creation, 14.3% cited housing stability, and 10.8% cited education and talent development.

Based on the results of the youth policy survey, the promotion team plans to discuss concrete implementation strategies and pursue various participatory programs to strengthen communication with young people. Furthermore, the city intends to establish an interdepartmental collaboration system and create a framework that can promptly respond to the needs of local youth in order to build a youth-friendly city.

A city official stated, "Through the activities of the promotion team, we hope to develop Chuncheon's unique youth-friendly brand and strengthen cooperation between young people and the private sector," adding, "We will support the establishment of a culture in which young people directly create and participate in policymaking."

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