Seongdong-gu Creates a Dedicated Space to Warmly Embrace At-Risk Youth Outside of School

Complete Remodeling of Kumho-dong Public Kumho Youth Reading Room with Book Cafe and Activity Room... Secured 220 Million KRW Funding through Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and Seoul City Project Selection

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-o) will create a dedicated space for career coaching and self-reliance support for out-of-school youth in the area by March.

Last year, the district was finally selected for two public projects: the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s “Dedicated Space Creation Project for Out-of-School Youth” and Seoul City’s “Youth Hideout Creation Project,” securing a total of 220 million KRW in national and city funds to build infrastructure for out-of-school youth.

This dedicated space for out-of-school youth will be created by fully remodeling the “Gurip Geumho Youth Reading Room” located in Geumho-dong. It will be operated as a space for at-risk youth and out-of-school youth, featuring a self-use area with a book caf? and activity room, as well as counseling rooms, an auditorium, and program rooms for academic and career planning and peer communication.

Accordingly, the functions of the “Seongdong-gu Youth Counseling Welfare Center” and the “Out-of-School Youth Support Center,” which were previously operated at the municipal youth center in Haengdang-dong, will be relocated to an independent space to actively support youth growth.

As of the end of last year, there are about 370 youth who have dropped out of school in Seongdong-gu. The district has made various efforts to help these out-of-school youth achieve self-reliance through employment, technical training, and returning to school.

In particular, as the need for youth-only spaces in the community utilizing idle public facilities has emerged, the district analyzed the status of youth facilities by region and began relocating and rearranging them.

With the creation of this dedicated space, some youth facilities that were concentrated in the Wangsimni area have moved to the Geumho and Haengdang areas, where seven elementary, middle, and high schools and eight nearby apartment complexes are densely located, enabling efficient use of space by facility.

Jeong Won-o, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We will spare no effort in developing programs and supporting them so that this can become a focal point for education and self-reliance support for at-risk youth and out-of-school youth.”