Partnership to offer credit management, seed funding, brand upgrades and expanded sales channels for youth villages

A view of the main street in Jigujangi Village [Youth Village official website]
A view of the main street in Jigujangi Village [Youth Village official website]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Friday that it signed an MOU with KB Kookmin Card at Jigujangi Village, a youth village in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, to support the sustainable growth of youth villages and help young people settle in local communities.

Youth villages help young people experience living, working and building relationships in local areas, supporting their efforts to settle down or launch various regional activities. A total of 61 such villages have been established nationwide.

The agreement was designed to tap private financial resources so that young people can use local assets to build sustainable projects and jobs.

Under the deal, the two organizations plan to provide tailored support to strengthen the business competitiveness of youth villages, including product upgrades, brand improvement, expansion of online and offline sales channels, and online marketing.

KB Kookmin Card will provide a total of 200 million won ($149,000) in seed funding to eight youth villages in the second half of this year through its KB Regional Youth Warmth-Sharing project.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety will support the linkage between the youth village project and private-sector support programs, help identify support recipients, and work to spread the project's outcomes.

Through the agreement, the two sides aim to build a cooperation model that goes beyond simple fiscal support, connecting private-sector expertise in finance, branding, sales channels and services with youth villages. The goal is to lay the groundwork for young people to create new jobs and community networks in their regions and continue to grow.

"Youth villages are an important policy that helps young people discover new possibilities in their regions, solve local problems together and grow," said Jin Myung-ki, head of the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Local Autonomy and Innovation Bureau. "Building on the MOU with KB Kookmin Card signed Friday, I hope the private sector's expertise in financial services, sales channel expansion and brand upgrades will connect with youth villages to genuinely support young people's independence and growth."


thlee@heraldcorp.com