Ministry of Gender Equality Designates 14 New Women-Friendly Cities, Expanding Total to 96

Excellent Local Governments Including Gangjin-gun, Jeonnam; Yongin-si; and Cheongju-si Receive Government Awards

Puso Experience in Gangjin County

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has newly designated 14 local governments nationwide as Women-Friendly Cities.

On the 28th, the Ministry announced that it signed agreements to promote Women-Friendly Cities with the 14 newly designated local governments and 7 re-designated local governments, and awarded government prizes to 3 local governments selected as excellent cities last year.

A "Women-Friendly City" refers to a city, county, or district where women and men participate equally in local policy and development processes, operating policies to empower women and ensure care and safety. Since the designation of Women-Friendly Cities began in 2009, participation has increased to 96 as of 2021.

The newly designated local governments this time are Icheon-si, Paju-si, and Hanam-si in Gyeonggi Province; Goseong-gun and Jinju-si in Gyeongsangnam-do; Jung-gu in Daejeon; Dongdaemun-gu, Dongjak-gu, and Jongno-gu in Seoul; Namdong-gu in Incheon; Hwasun-gun in Jeollanam-do; Goesan-gun and Jincheon-gun in Chungcheongbuk-do; and Cheonan-si in Chungcheongnam-do. The re-designated local governments are Bucheon-si in Gyeonggi Province; Changwon-si in Gyeongsangnam-do; Chilgok-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do; Daedeok-gu in Daejeon; Saha-gu in Busan; Yeonsu-gu in Incheon; and Gangjin-gun in Jeollanam-do.

As excellent Women-Friendly City institutions, Gangjin-gun in Jeollanam-do will receive the Presidential Citation, and Yongin-si in Gyeonggi Province and Cheongju-si in Chungcheongbuk-do will receive the Prime Minister's Citation. Gangjin-gun contributed to improving women's economic status by branding the region-specific women's job project 'Pu-so (FU-SO) Experience.' The Pu-so experience refers to Gangjin-style rural homestays, farming experiences, and week-long living programs.

Yongin-si in Gyeonggi Province demonstrated a successful case of spreading a gender-equal care culture through projects such as operating the Yongin Comprehensive Family Center and the care community 'Shared Parenting Diary.' Cheongju-si in Chungcheongbuk-do operated a UCC network involving universities, Cheongju-si, companies, and organizations, and activated community participation by supporting family-friendly network operations and village care revitalization.

Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said, "We will cooperate with local governments to create Women-Friendly Cities where all members of the community are equal and happy, so that people can feel an improved quality of life in their daily lives." She added, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will strive to ensure that the gender-equality policies planned by Women-Friendly Cities take root in the lives of local residents and spread to more local governments."