Gwangjin-gu Selected as Finalist in 'Maker Space' Specialized Lab Category

Published 14 May.2020 06:23(KST)

Supported with 250 Million KRW from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups through Public-Private-Academic Collaboration... 'Makersville' to Operate Connecting Maker Education to Startups

Sejong University Campus Gaonnuri

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Seon-gap) has been finally selected in the specialized lab category of the '2020 Maker Space Construction and Operation Project' announced by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

This project aims to expand maker spaces nationwide to support innovative creative activities. The specialized lab category supports creation and startup activities through exchanges among makers by producing prototypes based on digital equipment such as 3D printers and various hand tools.

The district collaborated with Sejong University and Chok Co., Ltd. to apply for the 'Cafe-style Webtoon and Animation Creative Specialized Lab' project and was selected. This is significant as it contributes to revitalizing local culture through public-private-academic cooperation.

The support scale for this project is 250 million KRW, and through performance evaluation until 2024, additional funding can be received for the next five years. The maker space will be named 'Makersvill' and is planned to be established at Gaonnuri I (Youth Startup Space), the base center of Sejong University Campus Town project.

Makersvill will operate as a future-oriented startup hub focusing on webtoons, animation, and digital content, supporting specialized content discovery, youth artist training, and education.

Makersvill will pursue the 3-Open (OPEN) strategy (Open space·sharing·innovation).

Here, Open space refers to a cafe-style complex cultural space open to everyone, where figures, character models, goods, etc., can be produced.

Open sharing is a collaboration and networking space for makers, aiming to pursue open innovation by linking with nearby small-scale manufacturing and printing companies.

This project is expected to contribute to building a convergence cultural space and revitalizing the local economy and culture by creating a future content creation space through cooperation with Sejong University Campus Town and private companies.

Since 2018, Gwangjin Information Library has been operating as a general lab in the maker space category. Notably, the library was selected as an 'Excellent Operation Institution for the 2019 Webtoon Creation Experience Center' by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, which is expected to create synergy with Makersvill.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "This project can be seen as a representative collaboration model where a virtuous cycle occurs between private, local, and university sectors," adding, "Through Makersvill, we will promote not only economic job creation such as youth artist training but also develop it into an innovative creative support and future-oriented startup hub centered on youth, contributing to the revitalization of the local economy."