Two-Year Anniversary of Gangdong 50 Plus Center for Middle-Aged Education Highlights Achievements... Students Achieve Monthly Sales of 10 Million KRW and Monthly Profit of 2.7 Million KRW
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Su-hee) is emerging as a hub for employment and entrepreneurship education for the middle-aged generation.
The Gangdong 50 Plus Center is the largest among Seoul's 50 Plus Centers, established to support social participation activities for preparing a new life before and after retirement and for a successful later life.
The district has achieved significant results by discovering the capabilities of the middle-aged through specialized education programs and focusing on creating social value.
Overall steady growth across all projects
Marking its 2nd anniversary, the Gangdong 50 Plus Center surpassed 30,000 cumulative website members last November. This was just over seven months after exceeding 20,000 members in March 2023. This represents a 99.7% increase compared to the same period last year.
The rise in online member inflow has translated into enthusiastic participation in on-site education.
As of 2023, a total of 322 programs have been offered, with 8,133 participants in education. Additionally, all major projects, including job discovery and linkage, job fairs and employment consulting, specialized communities, and operation of startup and job creation spaces, are showing steady growth.
Through 86 courses in the daily activity sector, students in the writer course debuted as authors by publishing 13 e-books, and 71 people were linked to jobs through professional instructor training and social contribution activities. Since the start of employment consulting this year, 40 people have successfully connected to jobs such as full-time positions and New Deal jobs.
In the center’s public project, 12 educational courses were developed, linking 26 graduates to instructor activities. Among the public projects, 43 people signed labor contracts and are active with the company that proposed the ‘Hospital Companion Manager Training Course.’
Also, through the ‘Saram Poom School,’ which supports the dream of becoming a professional instructor, 63 instructors have been produced and are active as instructors at the center and other institutions.
About 20 organizations (individuals) have moved into the shared office within the center and succeeded in startups. Among them, the Public Mathematics Research Institute (CEO: Jang ㅇㅇ) has shown remarkable growth, generating cumulative total revenue exceeding 25 million KRW, including selection as a participant company in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Hope Return Package. Other resident companies are actively engaged in various fields such as blog creation and promotion coaching, and mental coaching.
Excellent cases pouring in, proving educational effectiveness
With the development of YouTube and e-commerce markets during the COVID-19 era, the Gangdong 50 Plus Center operates various educational courses that keep pace with changing times. Middle-aged people have been able to approach unfamiliar fields such as YouTube creators and live commerce more easily through the center, using this as a stepping stone to embrace a new second half of life.
Mr. Lee ㅇㅇ (64), residing in Gangdong-gu, challenged himself as a YouTube creator for the first time by taking courses such as ▲YouTube Creator Training Introduction and ▲YouTube Editing - PowerDirector Master at the center. He launched a channel named ‘Golmeok Tour’ focusing on traditional markets. After 12 months of active operation with his wife, the channel surpassed 7,850 subscribers and continued to grow, generating actual revenue of about 2.7 million KRW. The income from YouTube will be reinvested in producing new video content titled ‘Cruise Trip of a Middle-aged Couple.’
Mr. Jung ㅇㅇ (55), residing in Gangdong-gu, became a star of TikTok live broadcasts after taking courses such as ▲Live Commerce Introduction, ▲Starting an Online Shopping Mall, and ▲Successful Second Act through Purchasing Agency Startup. He combined his know-how from running a store in the nearby Amsa General Market with the educational content to create unique clothing content on TikTok live broadcasts, resulting in blockbuster sales. The month with the highest revenue nearly reached 10 million KRW in monthly sales. The average views were 788,300 per broadcast, with sales per session reaching several million KRW.
Mr. Cho Hyun-ho (62), residing in Guro-gu, formed a connection with the Gangdong 50 Plus Center by taking the ‘YouTube Live Streaming Course.’ He caught the attention of a writer discovering middle-aged stories and the center’s staff, and was selected as a cast member for the EBS documentary K ‘Bookworm Humanity.’ He was featured as a respected father who wisely overcame the IMF crisis and as a middle-aged person sharing reading prescriptions. Based on this experience, he also presented his success story at the ‘2023 Gangdong Ople Festival.’ Recently, after completing the ‘Digital Financial Education Instructor Training,’ he is active as an instructor at the Gangnam Senior Welfare Center.
The Gangdong 50 Plus Center is dedicated to supporting the social advancement of middle-aged people through redesigning the second half of their lives. With continuous efforts to meet the ongoing educational demands, career planning, and job competency enhancement of the middle-aged, along with policy support, it is expected to maintain its growth trend next year.
Mayor Lee Su-hee of Gangdong-gu stated, “The remarkable growth of the Gangdong 50 Plus Center has provided the momentum for Gangdong-gu to advance as an educational city,” and added, “We ask for your continued support in 2024, the center’s third year since opening.”
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