The two-day festival runs Oct. 8 and 9 at PUBG Seongsu, featuring corporate mentoring, a relay lecture series and youth policy experience programs. A youth-friendly city declaration ceremony and governance launch will take place alongside a youth conference tied to the Creative×Seongsu summit.
Seoul's Seongdong-gu will hold a declaration ceremony marking the launch of its "Youth-Friendly City Seongdong" initiative and host the "2026 Youth-Friendly City Seongdong FESTA," an event designed to connect young people with local resources and businesses in Seongsu-dong.
The festival was organized to share a new vision and direction for youth policy following the district's designation as a youth-friendly city, and to link the industrial ecosystem of Seongsu-dong with employment, growth and startup opportunities for young people. It is particularly significant for building a cooperative framework that brings together youth, local businesses and the district administration — in conjunction with the 2026 Creative×Seongsu initiative.
Subtitled "Connecting Youth's Job and a Better Tomorrow," the 2026 Youth-Friendly City Seongdong FESTA runs Oct. 8 and 9 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at PUBG Seongsu. Krafton, the developer behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, is sponsoring the event.
The venue will feature three zones to help young visitors explore careers and futures while experiencing various policies and services: a Youth Growth Zone, a Youth Policy Zone and a Youth Experience Zone.
The Youth Growth Zone will offer a unique setting where Seongsu's culture and industrial ecosystem come together. Current employees from leading Seongsu-based companies — including SM Entertainment, Krafton, Hyundai Glovis, Shinhan Bank and Dongkook Pharmaceutical — will share firsthand job experience and employment information through mentoring sessions and lectures, supporting young people in exploring career paths and pursuing growth.
The Youth Policy Zone will bring together a range of youth policies and support services in one place, with participation from the Seongdong-gu Youth Policy Network, the Youth Challenge Support Project, comprehensive youth policy counseling, Seoul Young Tech and the Saessak Youth Employment Academy. The Youth Experience Zone will run hands-on programs that young visitors can enjoy directly, including fortune-telling, tarot readings, color therapy and interview makeup consultations.
A relay lecture series offering practical information on housing, personal finance and lifestyle will also be held. Topics will include safe jeonse and monthly rent contract practices, ETF investment for young people, and organization and storage tips from professional organizer "Gak Saengnim" — all aimed at providing genuinely useful guidance for young people's daily lives.
On the festival's first day, Oct. 8, a main ceremony beginning at 5 p.m. will share the vision and commitment behind "Youth-Friendly City Seongdong." The program will include a youth-friendly city declaration ceremony, commendations for those who have contributed to advancing youth policy, and a launch ceremony for the youth-friendly city governance body — marking a new beginning to be built together by young people and the local community.
The youth-friendly city governance body launching that day will serve as a cooperative foundation linking youth and the local community, tasked with reflecting young people's voices in policy and connecting the district's diverse resources.
Also on Oct. 8, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the "Seongdong Youth Conference" will be held at S-Factory in Seongsu-dong in conjunction with the Creative×Seongsu Summit. Under the theme "The AI Era: Connecting Youth's Future in Seongsu," the program will feature a keynote address by Kim Sang-gyun, a professor at Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Business, along with presentations on startup experiences and AI applications in Seongsu and a panel discussion with experts. The conference will explore startup, employment and collaboration opportunities for young people within the industrial ecosystem.
On Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., a talk concert will be held with "Artist Upsseyang," the creator of the space-out competition. The event will give young people a moment to step away from their busy routines, reflect on their own feelings and share experiences and thoughts with one another.
Seongdong-gu District Mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said the district would build a city where young people want to work, live, nurture their dreams and stay for life. "We will provide solid support for young people's lives — covering employment, housing, culture and civic participation — and will listen closely to their voices to create more opportunities and change," she said.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
