Yongsan-gu Youth Engage in Dialogue with District Mayor Park Hee-young?

Held a Communication Meeting with the District Mayor at Yongsan Youth Jium on the 25th
Shared Youth Interests and Activities, Exchanged Opinions on Youth Policies with the District Mayor

Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) held the “Youth Policy Network Communication Meeting with the District Mayor” at 7 p.m. on the 25th at Yongsan Cheongnyeon Jium (17 Seobinggo-ro), which continued with enthusiasm late into the night.

The event was organized to share the interests and activities of youth and actively reflect their opinions in district administration.

On this day, 12 youth committee members, including the Yongsan Youth Policy Network executives, attended and engaged in dialogue with Park Hee-young, the mayor of Yongsan-gu. The meeting proceeded in the order of introducing Yongsan-gu’s youth policies, “Me in Yongsan,” and a conversation with the district mayor.

The “Me in Yongsan” segment was prepared to ease the awkwardness among participants. Mayor Park and the youth committee members introduced themselves along with photos taken at memorable or recommended places in Yongsan.

The youth showed their affection for Yongsan by sharing photos taken at Namsan Tower, Wonhyo Bridge, Yongsan Family Park, and Yongsan Cheongnyeon Jium. When it was Mayor Park’s turn, he displayed a photo of the Yongsan Charm Garden created in the plaza in front of Yongsan Station on the 16th, expressing his commitment to creating green spaces in daily life.

The conversation with the mayor was structured around Mayor Park selecting keywords to listen to questions and provide answers. The keywords prepared in advance by the youth committee members included ▲drug misuse ▲senior peers ▲stress ▲Yongsan International Business District ▲gentrification ▲youth, among others.

Topics related to policies such as the Yongsan International Business District were discussed freely without formal constraints, with youth offering opinions and discussing development directions based on Mayor Park’s responses. He also added that areas that cannot be pursued solely by Yongsan-gu would be closely coordinated with related organizations.

Mayor Park communicated actively with the youth committee members, revealing not only Yongsan-gu’s youth support policies and vision but also personal aspects such as stress relief methods, important values in life, and growth experiences.

The opinions of the youth will be actively reflected in youth policies after review by the relevant departments. The youth certification exam fee support policy implemented this year also originated from a proposal by the Yongsan-gu Youth Policy Network last year.

Mayor Park emphasized, “I understand that today’s youth have more complex and subtle anxieties than the older generation did when they were young,” and said, “We will regularly hold communication meetings to directly hear and engage with youth voices and create a youth-friendly district administration.”

Meanwhile, the currently active 3rd term Yongsan-gu Youth Policy Network was reorganized in February this year and began activities as a representative communication channel for local youth. In March, basic education was conducted in four divisions?jobs, culture and arts, welfare, and systems and promotion?for agenda discovery and proposals. By June, after advanced education and mentoring, each division will submit policy proposals to the district office.