[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu, First Nationwide 'Youth Culture Bureau' Established in the 8th Elected Term, Administrative Reorganization to Create a Role Model for Youth Policy & New 'Youth Exchange Team' and 'Single-Person Household Support Team' Reflecting Local Characteristics & Operating Integrated Youth Support Platform 'Gwanak Youth Center,' Expanding Youth Cultural Spaces, Job Opportunities, and Housing Stability... Jungnang Residents Directly Inspect Pledges and Suggest Improvements as 'Resident Pledge Evaluation Group' Appointed... Yeongdeungpo-gu to Operate Newlywed Couple Classes at District Office Annex on November 5 and 12
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Youth are the driving force of the nation’s growth and the protagonists of the future. The 8th term of the Gwanak District government aims to focus on ‘youth,’ the future of Gwanak, to pursue the happy lives of its residents.”
Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak District, stated, “Reflecting the district’s characteristic of having the highest youth population ratio in the country at 41%, we plan to establish the nation’s first ‘Youth Culture Bureau’ to implement policies that more intensively and systematically encompass both ‘youth’ and ‘culture.’”
Since the launch of the 7th term, Gwanak District has been the only basic local government at the district level nationwide to establish a dedicated Youth Policy Division, implementing specialized youth policies unique to Gwanak, such as youth network activities, support for jobs, housing, and financial activities.
Mayor Park, who was re-elected for the 8th term, will establish the ‘Youth Culture Bureau’ to comprehensively and systematically strengthen support for youth policies, including expanding youth cultural spaces and jobs, housing stability, and social participation activation. The administrative reorganization will take effect on November 1 to create a city where youth want to stay and live.
To operate specialized youth policy projects and expand youth cultural spaces, a ‘Youth Exchange Team’ will be newly established within the Youth Policy Division. Additionally, reflecting the district’s characteristic that 62.4% of youth households are single-person households, a ‘Single-Person Household Support Team’ will be set up within the Welfare Policy Division to build a linkage and support system for customized local youth demand policies.
The district plans to strengthen youth support policies by utilizing the integrated youth support platform ‘Gwanak Youth Center.’ With a total project cost of 13 billion KRW, the center will be an open space for youth with a total floor area of 1,528.86㎡, spanning from basement level 1 to the 7th floor, and is being expedited for completion this year.
Once ‘Gwanak Youth Center’ is completed, a ‘Gwanak Youth Center Director’ will be selected to support the center as a hub for comprehensive youth policies, providing employment, jobs, welfare, psychological counseling, and community support to youth facing various social issues.
Along with expanding communication spaces with youth, the district will also operate youth public forums, support youth club activities, and run community classes for single-person youth households, listening to youth voices and laying the foundation for youth cooperative governance administration through strengthening youth networks and bonds.
The district will expand the operation of public cultural spaces where youth communicate through culture and arts, such as Sillim-dong Three-Room, Gwancheon-ro Cultural Platform S1472, and Media Center Gwanak. It will also operate ‘Youth Imagination Week’ to create a differentiated youth festival featuring busking performances and the ‘Youth Talk Talk’ talk show, fostering a healthy youth culture where the younger generation can communicate.
Efforts will also be made to solve practical problems faced by youth, such as youth unemployment and housing. The district will continuously support youth employment and job competency enhancement through local community-led youth job projects providing work experience in community service fields, mentoring and consulting, job experience programs, and training IT professionals for the 4th industrial revolution.
Furthermore, the district will strive for housing stability by supporting moving assistance for single-person youth households, expanding youth-customized rental housing, and providing safe contract services for youth tenants to make youth want to stay and live in the district.
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Gwanak District and youth share many similarities in having infinite potential. Along with completing an innovative economic city, we will create ‘Gwanak, a city where youth achieve their dreams’ through strong youth support policies and establish a role model for youth policies.”
Jungnang District (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) has appointed 35 members to the Resident Pledge Evaluation Group to objectively and fairly manage campaign pledges. The evaluation group will be active until November this year.
The Resident Pledge Evaluation Group is a resident participation system where district residents directly check the status of pledge implementation and evaluate action plans.
The district plans to strengthen communication with residents by providing a channel for residents to participate in the pledge implementation process, following the ‘Jungnang Vision Roundtable’ and ‘Jungnang Masil’ that reflect residents’ voices in policies, thereby realizing transparent and trusted district administration.
The Resident Pledge Evaluation Group consists of Jungnang residents aged 18 or older, randomly selected through ARS and telephone interviews by the professional organization Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters, considering gender, age, and region. They will check 125 pledge implementation plans, suggest improvements and opinions, and undertake roles such as reviewing and approving changes to action plans.
At the first meeting held on October 20, training on activities and capabilities was provided to the selected evaluation group members, followed by subgroup formation and discussions. The group will review the effectiveness, validity, and feasibility of 125 pledge projects and action plans across seven major fields of the 8th term. The group’s recommendations will be published on the district office website in December.
Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi of Jungnang District said, “I thank the Resident Pledge Evaluation Group for their willing participation out of interest and love for the region and ask for their active engagement. We will ensure fairness by reflecting residents’ voices from the pledge action plan establishment process and do our best to systematically and sincerely implement pledge projects by incorporating the group’s suggestions.”
Yeongdeungpo District (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) will operate a ‘Newlywed Couple Class’ to support newlyweds in having a healthy newlywed period.
The ‘Newlywed Couple Class,’ part of the Seoul Family School project, is a program that helps newlywed couples who have been married for a short time understand each other’s characteristics and lifestyles, prevent early marital conflicts, and build a happy family.
The classes will be held on November 5 and 12 at the Yeongdeungpo District Office annex. Any ‘Seoul living area newlywed couple’ whose residence, workplace, or school is located in Seoul and who have been married for seven years or less can participate. Newlywed couples attending the class will share information necessary for married life and learn communication methods to understand each other, taking stable first steps as a couple.
This lecture will cover topics such as ▲Understanding and checking newlywed couples ▲Newlywed conflicts and communication methods ▲Your and my life curves, now as one ▲Creating the newlywed years together, designed to broaden mutual understanding and increase intimacy and trust between spouses.
The class is free of charge, and participants will receive a certificate of completion and a souvenir upon finishing. Applications can be made by phone to the Yeongdeungpo Family Center or by submitting an application form via the QR code printed on the poster.
For more details about the Newlywed Couple Class, visit the Yeongdeungpo District Office website under Our District News or contact the Yeongdeungpo Family Center for guidance.
Mayor Choi Ho-kwon of Yeongdeungpo District said, “The process of two people from different backgrounds forming one family inevitably requires much conflict resolution. Through this education, I hope newlywed couples recognize each other’s value and reflect on the meaning of marriage and family to start a happy married life.”
Seongbuk District (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) was selected as an excellent district (Grade A) for three consecutive years in the ‘2022 Local Government Joint Evaluation’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The government joint evaluation is a system where the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and central administrative agencies evaluate the performance of local governments in carrying out national delegated tasks, national subsidy projects, and major national policies throughout the year.
Based on the evaluation results by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seoul City assessed the performance of 25 autonomous districts, and Seongbuk District achieved an excellent Grade A, receiving a financial incentive of 22.5 million KRW from Seoul City.
The district exceeded targets in 32 out of 44 quantitative indicators (73%). Particularly, it received favorable evaluations across various fields such as general administration, economy, and welfare, including ▲timely establishment rate of essential ordinances ▲achievement rate of public employment support services ▲priority purchase rate in the social economy sector ▲community dementia management rate ▲usage rate of national and public daycare centers.
Mayor Lee Seung-ro of Seongbuk District said, “Despite difficulties in promoting joint evaluation tasks due to all administrative efforts being focused on COVID-19, achieving the excellent district selection for three consecutive years is the result of all staff working together with one heart. We will continue to do our best to realize ‘Happier Seongbuk Together.’”
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