The District Office That Ended Educational Discrimination in 'Kkul Alba' Previously Reserved Only for University Students

Seongdong-gu Office Breaks Convention, Recruiting Over 3,000 People Annually in Seoul Alone

Seongdong-gu has improved the public office part-time job positions, which were previously only available to university students, to allow all young people aged 19 to 29 to apply. Jung Won-oh, the district mayor (center in the photo), is having a conversation with students from the administrative experience group. (Photo by Seongdong-gu Office)

"Comfortable working environment, relatively high hourly wage, monthly salary without fear of non-payment"

These are the conditions of a "sweet part-time job" preferred by most part-time workers. There are more than 3,000 such well-paid part-time jobs annually in Seoul alone, and tens of thousands nationwide, provided by local governments for young people, but these opportunities are firmly closed to youth who are not attending university.

Every winter and summer vacation, Seoul City and its 25 districts recruit part-time workers. This month, Seoul City recruited 250 university students, and each district office conducted a lottery selection for applicants, ranging from as few as 30 to as many as 100 people, such as 100 in Gwanak-gu and 80 in Gwangjin-gu.

Although the names vary slightly by local government?such as university student part-time jobs, administrative experience groups, or administrative interns?the work is the same. They are assigned to district offices, community service centers, welfare centers, libraries, museums, youth centers, etc., where they assist with simple administrative tasks, organize materials, and support events.

Since they are hired only for 4 to 6 weeks twice a year during vacation periods, these are temporary part-time positions. The local governments recruit them not primarily due to labor shortages but to help local youth gain diverse social experiences. Reflecting this purpose, 20-30% of the selected positions are preferentially allocated to basic livelihood security recipients, low-income groups, families of national veterans, and children from multicultural families, providing them with benefits.

Although short-term, these jobs are very popular, with an average competition rate around 10 to 1. Last year, Songpa-gu selected 60 administrative interns from over 700 applicants, a competition rate of 11 to 1, and Eunpyeong-gu attracted 460 applicants for 50 positions during last summer vacation.

Because a living wage is applied, the hourly wage is 11,436 KRW, about 16% higher than the 2024 minimum wage (9,860 KRW). Weekly holiday pay is provided separately, some places also cover meal costs, and employment and industrial accident insurance are included. Working 5 hours a day for 4 weeks can earn about 1.59 million KRW.

The intention is good, but the limitation is that the part-time jobs are restricted to university students. Youth who are not university students or who attend institutions such as the Korea National Open University or cyber universities cannot apply.

Recently, Seongdong-gu broke this "convention." Seongdong-gu Office announced recruitment for 80 administrative experience group members from the 15th to the 21st of this month, expanding eligibility from university students to all 19-29-year-old youth residing in Seongdong-gu. At the same time, the name was changed from "University Student Administrative Experience Group" to "Youth Administrative Experience Group." This is the first case among Seoul's districts, improving the habitual academic elitism and discrimination that had been practiced despite the original purpose.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "It is meaningful in that we considered allowing youth to gain administrative experience and develop various policy ideas without academic discrimination," adding, "I hope this will be a great opportunity for local youth to experience various administrative sites of the district, deepen their understanding and interest in district administration, and directly propose and share ideas that meet the youth perspective."