Youth Village Launch Ceremony to Bring More Vitality to the Area in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam

Started Business in 2018, Added 12 More Locations This Year for a Total of 27 Nationwide

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The 2022 Youth Village Joint Launch Ceremony will be held on the 13th in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam.

Youth Village is a regional settlement support project by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that supports youth settlement by providing residential, exchange, and startup spaces for youth, as well as regional exploration, settlement, and exchange, relationships, and cooperation with the local community, thereby revitalizing the region.

It started as a pilot project in 2018 with 'Gwaenchana Village' in Mokpo-si, Jeonnam, followed by 'Life Skills School' in Seocheon-gun, Chungnam in 2019, and 'Moonlight Exploration Team' in Mungyeong-si, Gyeongbuk in 2020.

Since then, in 2021, 12 locations including Dong-gu in Busan, Ganghwa-gun in Incheon, and Ulju-gun in Ulsan were selected, and including new villages this year, a total of 27 locations nationwide have been established.

This year's launch ceremony will be held under the theme "Youth, Becoming the Wind of the Region" at the forest stage Dabyeotdang in Sangnim Park, featuring congratulatory performances by the Taean Youth Village, opening events, visits to Youth Village booths, and dialogues with youth.

Youth representatives from 15 existing Youth Villages will attend the launch ceremony to celebrate the start of 12 new villages joining this year.

The creation of Youth Villages is open to organizations whose representatives are youth and where at least 50% of the participating workforce are youth, such as youth organizations or companies.

This year, 133 applications were received nationwide, and after reviewing business plans, document screening, on-site inspections, and presentation evaluations, 12 locations were finally selected with a competition rate of 11 to 1.

The selected organizations will receive a total project fund of 600 million KRW over three years (200 million KRW per year), along with support such as ▲expert consultation ▲formation of communication networks and collaboration support among Youth Villages ▲and advancement of business models.

The new Youth Villages include 'Gomawo Halmae' in Hamyang-gun, where the launch ceremony is held, 'Ohireo Hadong' in Hadong-gun, 'Life Valley' in Sokcho-si, Gangwon, 'DOGO Oncheon' in Asan, Chungnam, 'Byeongyeong Creative Troupe' in Gangjin, Jeonnam, 'Sul Iknun Maeul' in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, and 'Gajami Village' in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk.

They plan to operate the villages according to local characteristics, open social networking services (SNS) to recruit participants, and conduct regional living programs.

Activities of the Youth Villages can be checked on the official 2022 Youth Village website.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to hold a Youth Village promotional exhibition showcasing Youth Village programs and products from September 17 to 18, and in December, a Youth Village performance sharing meeting will be held to share the progress and results of each village's projects.

Jung Seonyong, Director of Regional Innovation Policy at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "The Youth Village project provides new opportunities for youth based outside the metropolitan area and revitalizes the region. We will actively support youth and local residents to cooperate in creating unique jobs in each village and fostering startups utilizing local resources."