Special lectures and mentoring by arts and culture experts in August to focus on solutions to loneliness; top teams earn a booth at the Seodaemun-gu Youth Culture Festival in September
Seodaemun-gu is accepting applications through July 24 for the inaugural cohort of its "Lonely Market" Culturethon, a program in which young people use arts and culture to find solutions to youth loneliness.
"Lonely Market" — a name meant to evoke the idea of selling loneliness and buying connection — is a loneliness prevention project that reframes youth isolation as a social issue rather than a personal failing, and invites young people to develop their own remedies.
Running under the catchphrase "Left alone, it's loneliness — but when we discover it together, it becomes the start of a new connection," the program takes the form of a "Culturethon" built around special lectures and close mentoring by arts and culture professionals.
A "Culturethon" blends the words "culture" and "marathon," referring to an intensive, time-limited sprint to plan a cultural arts project or program.
The initiative was selected through the Seoul Metropolitan Government's "Walking Together with the Vulnerable" grant competition for autonomous districts. Seodaemun-gu hosts the program, with arts and culture social venture Bluebird C Co., Ltd. serving as the organizing partner.
An online "Insight Lecture" will be held Aug. 3 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. The session will feature Kim Sang-mi, CEO of Bluebird C — whose work connects social value through arts and culture spanning hospital art therapy, disability arts education, and loneliness workshops for middle-aged adults — alongside Yoo Seung-gyu, who founded the social enterprise "Anmuseowoohoe" drawing on his own experience of social withdrawal.
The Lonely Market Culturethon sessions will then run every Thursday from Aug. 6 through Aug. 27, from 1 to 5 p.m. (6 p.m. on Aug. 6), at the Seodaemun-gu Youth Startup Center at 43 Susaek-ro.
Arts activist Kim Su-a, Ahn Ye-seul of Gomin Jeonggeojang, cultural arts planner Choi Seon-yeong, theater production director and pianist Shim Eun-byeol, playwright and director Jeong Jin-sae, installation artist and arts educator Moon Hae-ju, Kim Yeon-jeong of Always Awake, and independent curator and editor Kim Yu-na will lead introductory discussions, lectures, and one-on-one mentoring sessions. Participants will use these sessions to develop actionable models for addressing youth loneliness.
Teams selected as outstanding will receive a commendation from the Seodaemun-gu mayor and earn the opportunity to run a pop-up booth at the district's youth culture festival "Heart of Youth," set for Sept. 18 in the Sinchon area.
The program is free and open to people between the ages of 19 and 39 (born 1986–2007) who live, study, or work in Seodaemun-gu and want to collaborate on solutions to youth loneliness through arts and culture.
Those who wish to attend only the Insight Lecture may apply for the Starter Track, which accommodates around 100 participants with no separate selection process. Those who want to take part in both the lecture and all four Culturethon sessions should apply for the Master Track, which selects 40 participants.
Applications are available online. For details, visit the Seodaemun-gu Office website's notice board or contact Bluebird C directly.
Seodaemun-gu said it hopes many young people who want to gently identify hidden signals of loneliness in everyday life and craft solutions that work in real settings — alongside expert mentors — will apply and take part.
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