[Contribution] Goseong County: "Youth Policy Determines the Future of the Region"

In an Era of Population Decline, Positioning Youth Policy as the Starting Point of Regional Innovation
From Youth Who Leave to Youth Who Return: Goseong’s Strategic Shift
Beyond Welfare: The Potential of Youth Policy as a Strategy for Growth

Having been born and raised in Goseong County and having observed the growth of children in Goseong as a professional for over 20 years, one fact has become clear: the sustainability of the region depends on the depth and direction of its youth policy.

When young people can envision their future within the region, the region can grow together with them. Youth policy is no longer just a matter of simple welfare; it must be the starting point of a regional development strategy.

Goseong County in South Gyeongsang Province faces structural challenges of aging, population decline, and the outflow of young people all at the same time. In particular, as the trend of leaving the region after graduating from middle and high school for career and education paths has become entrenched, a perception of Goseong as a "place where you cannot stay" is naturally taking root among the younger generation. This is not merely a demographic issue; it is a key factor that weakens the sustainability of the local labor force, the economy, and the community.

However, Goseong is not a region lacking in potential. Its solid primary industry base in agriculture and fisheries, its sea and natural environment, and its community-centered lifestyle culture can all become strong competitive advantages when combined with youth policy. The problem is not whether resources exist, but how these resources are connected to the growth pathways of young people.

Now is the time for a policy shift that positions young people not as "objects of protection" but as key actors in regional development.

First, a region-based career and digital convergence education system must be established. Beyond simple coding education, young people should learn how to "use technology within the region" through data utilization, smart agriculture and fisheries, and problem-solving projects linked to Goseong's industrial structure in agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. This is both a process of career exploration for young people and an investment in nurturing future talent for local industries.

Second, youth-participatory local industry and start-up projects need to be activated. Through small-scale start-up practice and research activities that utilize Goseong’s specialty products, marine resources, and local content, a system should be created in which young people can directly participate in the local economy. Experiential policies that allow for failure are precisely what foster both the spirit of challenge among young people and their potential to settle in the region.

Third, intergenerational mentoring and community programs must be redesigned. Goseong is a region with greater potential for intergenerational connection than disconnection. If policies can support a structure in which the experience of seniors, the skills of local experts, and the ideas of young people come together, community revitalization and youth development can be achieved simultaneously. Local festivals and cultural events also need to shift from a spectator-centered format to one in which young people plan and participate.

Youth policy is an area where it is difficult to produce visible results in the short term. However, it is also the most reliable investment in determining what a region will look like 10 or 20 years from now. A region becomes truly sustainable when young people think about local issues, take part in solving them, and are able to imagine their own future in that place.

If Goseong County places youth policy at the core of its regional innovation, it can, in the short term, increase satisfaction with education and youth participation, and in the mid to long term, simultaneously achieve the goals of easing population decline, fostering endogenous growth of the local economy, and restoring the community. This is not an idealistic dream but a fully achievable strategy.

A region where young people do not give up on their dreams, but nurture them and come back.

A region where generations are not disconnected, but learn and grow together.

The future of Goseong, created jointly by young people and residents, is what a truly sustainable Goseong looks like.

Youth Counselor Lee Yooni