Why Have Andong's Youth Policies Failed to Reach Young People?

A City with '0% Policy Awareness'
Youth Take the Lead in Seeking Solutions

The Andong Junior Chamber (President Son Byunghyun, hereafter referred to as the Andong Branch) will hold the '2025 Andong City Local Era Capacity Building Youth Policy Forum' at 3:00 p.m. on December 4 in the main conference room of the Andong Youth Training Center to assess the effectiveness of local youth policies and seek alternatives.

Urban Youth with 0% Policy Awareness Find Solutions Themselves

This forum marks the first official discussion aimed at directly addressing Andong's structural issues, such as population outflow, lack of policy impact, and the weakening of the youth base, and at practically advancing the transition 'from a city people leave to a city people choose.'

The reality revealed by a preliminary survey is alarming. In a survey conducted by the Andong Branch with 120 local youths, not a single respondent said they were aware of Andong City's youth policies-a 0% policy awareness rate. This highlights a structural disconnect in which policies exist but fail to reach the youth.

In addition, less than half of respondents said they were "definitely" willing to settle in Andong. The areas most frequently cited as lacking were ▲culture and leisure (72.5%) and ▲jobs (40%). Both the 'living infrastructure' and 'livelihood foundation' for youth were found to be vulnerable.

The event will begin with an opening video and a welcoming address from the mayor of Andong, followed by a keynote lecture from Professor Choi Donseung of Kyungpook National University.

Professor Choi, under the theme "From a City Youth Leave to a City Youth Choose," will analyze population trends, policy communication structures, and settlement factors based on data, emphasizing that "youth outflow is not an individual issue, but a structural problem of the city."

Next, the organizing team will present the results of the preliminary survey and university students' policy idea pitches, providing a detailed explanation of the real-world context behind the forum's agenda.

The panel discussion will explore the essence of Andong's youth policies from various perspectives. Hwang Youngjun, Vice President of Internal Affairs at the Andong Branch, will point out the limitations of local youth spaces and cultural content. Kim Youngjin, a reporter at Maeil Shinmun, will highlight structural problems in the promotion and delivery system of youth policies, stressing that "policies must be experienced, not just documented."

Park Minjae, a university student and entrepreneur, will discuss the practical barriers faced by young people in entrepreneurship and employment, while Min Heesu, the Youth Mayor of Iksan, North Jeolla Province, will present differences between policy design and implementation based on the Iksan case.

The second round of in-depth discussions will focus on actionable solutions, such as establishing experiential policy structures, building youth participation systems, and creating conditions for a city where young people want to stay. The third round spot Q&A will feature questions that distill the forum's key messages, such as "What do Andong's youth lack most right now?" and "If you had to express the reasons for leaving or staying in a single word, what would it be?" to summarize the discussion.

The final session will feature a sticker poll in which young people directly choose priorities for urban change. The question is simple: "What is the one thing you most want to see changed in Andong a year from now?"

The five voting options are ▲expanding youth spaces ▲increasing youth participation ▲program implementation ▲job growth ▲enhancing city appeal. The results will be released on-site and are expected to serve as key evidence for future policy proposals.

Son Byunghyun, President of the Andong Junior Chamber, stated, "The biggest problem shown by the data is that although policies exist, there is a structural barrier preventing them from reaching the youth. This forum will be the first 'youth experiential policy platform' where young people themselves raise issues and propose solutions."

He added, "We will organize the forum results into policy recommendations to be submitted to Andong City, and the Andong Branch will take the lead in building a city where young people want to stay."

Based on the results of this forum, the Andong Branch and Andong City plan to sequentially announce follow-up measures, including ▲expanding youth spaces ▲enhancing the policy participation structure ▲establishing ongoing youth programs ▲strengthening links between entrepreneurship and job creation.

Andong Junior Chamber, '2025 Andong City Local Era Capacity Building Youth Policy Forum'

The reality experienced by Andong's youth is a critical indicator of the city's competitiveness. The '0% policy awareness' figure is not just a data point, but a warning signal for the city's future. It is hoped that the voices of youth highlighted in this forum will serve as the first step toward policy transformation.

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