The Nostalgic 'Gwangju Simin Hoegwan' Transformed into a Youth Startup Space

On the afternoon of the 30th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the opening ceremony of the 'Gwangju Citizens' Hall Youth Startup Space' held at the outdoor performance hall of Nam-gu Gwangju Citizens' Hall and delivered an encouragement speech. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Citizens' Hall, filled with the memories and sorrows of Gwangju citizens, has been reborn as a youth startup complex cultural space.

Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 31st that on the afternoon of the 30th, it held an opening ceremony for the youth startup space at the Gwangju Citizens' Hall on the first floor, attended by Mayor Lee Yong-seop, city council members, and young entrepreneurs.

The newly opened Gwangju Citizens' Hall features commercial spaces on the first floor, including a cafe, bakery, youth makers' product sales stands, and a flower shop. The second floor has an education hall capable of hosting various trainings such as for YouTube creators and film screenings, as well as a small exhibition hall. The third floor has been transformed into a shared office space for young entrepreneurs.

Youth entrepreneurs will conduct weekly cultural programs with citizens, which had been postponed due to COVID-19, alongside their startup activities in various fields at the Citizens' Hall.

Since last year, the city has been recruiting youth startup supporters and promoting the "Shared Property Utilization Social Experiment Youth Startup Support Project" to revitalize the Citizens' Hall by creating startup spaces.

To sustain the 50-year history of the Citizens' Hall and restore it as a citizen space, a private council called the "Citizens' Promotion Council," involving experts, civil society, the council, and the media, was formed, along with the "Gwangju Citizens' Hall Youth Network," which includes various youth actors, to gather opinions and share ideas.

As a result, 33 young entrepreneurs from 19 teams across five fields?F&B, makers, culture, media, and community?were selected. An innovation camp was held to discover startup content and concretize business plans, providing professional mentoring.

This year, the young entrepreneurs developed their own joint brand, "FoRest971," and prepared for the opening while monitoring the COVID-19 situation.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, "The Citizens' Hall, which has long been a beloved gathering and communication space for citizens, has been reborn as a space where the energy of youth gathers. We will strive to build a startup ecosystem for young people so that many imaginative and creative young individuals can venture into entrepreneurship."