Gwangju and Jeonnam youth policy demands show differences by region

Demand for ‘quality jobs’ in Gwangju, ‘metropolitan transportation’ in the East, and ‘career formation’ in the West

(Jeonnam Gwangju = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Cheol-hong = Young people in Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City chose 'quality of life' as the most important value to be considered in future youth policies, but it was found that they made different demands by region.

According to the Gwangju Research Institute on the 6th, at the 'Jeonnam Gwangju Youth-led Policy Design Workshop' held the previous day, about 140 youth panelists from the Gwangju area, western area, and eastern area discussed current youth policy issues and future directions in the integrated special city.

As a result of the discussion, 'quality of life' took the highest priority as the core value that youth policy should pursue, followed by 'opportunity' and 'growth'.

Young people expressed the opinion that they need an environment that goes beyond simple employment support to increase overall satisfaction with life, including jobs, housing, relationships, and leisure, and allows them to challenge themselves and grow regardless of their residential area or personal background.

Policy demands differed by region.

Young people in the Gwangju area pointed out that the most urgent problem is the lack of quality jobs with desired occupations and wages and welfare levels.

In areas adjacent to Gwangju, including Naju, the need to expand housing support for local youth and ease eligibility requirements for support projects was raised.

In the eastern region, there were opinions that the burden of commuting to work was high due to lack of metropolitan transportation accessibility to Gwangju, while in the western region, there was a call to expand the foundation for young people to build a stable career in the region.

The youth policy delivery system was also presented as an improvement task.

The opinion is that the existing Youth Integration Platform should be reorganized into a customized system that guides support projects tailored to each individual's situation, and policies should be linked to the youth's life stage so that support from counseling, job search, work experience, employment, and employment is not interrupted.

The Gwangju Research Institute plans to analyze these opinions by region and field and reflect them in the ‘Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Youth Policy Basic Plan (2027-2031)’ that is currently being established.

Moon Yeon-hee, senior research fellow at the Gwangju Research Institute, said, "We will faithfully include the voices raised by young people on current issues, quality of life, opportunities, and growth in our research on the basic plan for youth policy for the Unified Special City."