A relay of job mentoring concerts, internship completion ceremonies and CEO roundtables aims to support young job seekers from preparation through hands-on experience to policy input.
Dobong-gu in Seoul will hold a series of youth-focused events from September through October, bringing together young job seekers and local businesses to strengthen employment support and channel frontline voices into district policy.
The events go beyond simple job training or placement, aiming to build a comprehensive support system that spans job preparation, hands-on work experience, corporate hiring connections and youth policy feedback.
The main programs are a youth employment mentoring concert, a Dobong-gu youth internship completion ceremony and roundtable, a CEO roundtable with companies participating in the youth internship program, and a youth growth project outreach event.
The series kicks off Thursday at 6 p.m. with the "2026 Dobong-gu Youth Employment Mentoring Concert" at Seoninbong Hall in the district office.
Open to up to 200 young job seekers, the event will feature working professionals from a range of fields — including global corporations and major domestic companies — sharing practical employment advice.
The program opens with a conversation between Dobong-gu District Mayor Kim Dong-wook and young attendees, followed by a keynote lecture by the head of South Korea's largest job-search platform — a former Samsung human resources executive — on "How to land a job by building your own competitive edge in the AI era."
Three rounds of small-group mentoring sessions with professionals from more than 20 companies will then follow.
On Monday at 2 p.m., the district office's Youth Employment Support Center on the first floor will host the "2026 Dobong-gu Youth Internship Completion Ceremony and Roundtable."
The Dobong-gu youth internship program runs in two tracks: a public-institution track placing interns at local public institutions, and a corporate track that matches young people with local businesses and subsidizes six months of wages for companies that hire them.
This year, 13 slots were filled across 10 public institutions and 8 slots across 6 local companies, drawing competition ratios of roughly 10-to-1 and 19-to-1, respectively.
The selected participants worked from April through September, building practical skills. One corporate intern was recognized for internship experience during the placement period and secured a full-time job ahead of schedule.
All 16 youth interns who took part in the program this year will attend the ceremony to receive completion certificates and share six months of on-the-job experience and suggestions.
The district will also deepen its cooperation with companies that provide young people with work experience.
On Sept. 28, the district will hold a roundtable with the chief executives of companies participating in the corporate youth internship track to discuss expanding youth work experience opportunities and ways to sustain and improve the program.
The six participating companies this year are Alux, Routefinders, Univis, Humust R&D, Hello Friends and Nexicle.
At the roundtable, company heads who hired and managed interns will share their firsthand observations and discuss ways to develop the program further — including identifying new job roles, broadening participation and strengthening hiring connections.
Finally, on Oct. 13, District Mayor Kim will meet directly with 15 young participants in the "2026 Dobong-gu Youth Growth Project" for an open conversation.
The Youth Growth Project was selected through a competitive grant process run by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and is funded by 52 million won ($38,600) in national government support.
Designed to encourage unemployed and job-seeking youth to re-engage with the job market, the project has offered a range of programs — including mindfulness sessions, relaunch preparation, career transition support and job-search coaching — running from June through October this year. Through August, 556 people had taken part across 32 program sessions.
The outreach event will be held in conjunction with a baking class that is part of the Youth Growth Project, with participants sharing muffins, scones and sandwiches they made themselves in a relaxed setting.
The event will give young people in a variety of circumstances — recent graduates preparing to enter the workforce and those seeking to change jobs or return to employment — a chance to voice their concerns and offer ideas on youth policy.
"What young people need is not simply one program, but continuous support that runs from job preparation through hands-on experience, connections with companies and ongoing growth," District Mayor Kim said. "We will keep listening directly to the voices of young people and businesses and build youth employment policies that can be felt on the ground."
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