Event held Friday–Saturday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza Art Hall 1

Program has provided financial education to 76,000 young people since 2021

Young visitors receive financial counseling at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Youth Young-tech booth during Herald Money Festa 2026 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [The Herald Business DB]
Young visitors receive financial counseling at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Youth Young-tech booth during Herald Money Festa 2026 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [The Herald Business DB]

Young visitors flocked to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Youth Young-tech exhibition booth at Herald Money Festa 2026, held Friday and Saturday at Art Hall 1 of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Now in its third year, Herald Money Festa ran for two days under the theme "Money Rebalancing: Recalibrating the Weight of Your Assets." The event featured lectures covering shares, ETFs, real estate, gold and virtual assets, as well as asset management, tax reduction and inheritance planning — giving visitors a chance to review their financial flows and portfolios amid a rapidly shifting investment landscape.

The Youth Young-tech booth introduced the Seoul Metropolitan Government's free one-on-one financial consulting program, available to Seoul residents between the ages of 19 and 39. Since its launch in 2021, the program has served 75,924 young people through financial counseling and education to help them manage their assets. Veterans who completed mandatory military service may apply up to age 42, depending on their length of service.

The financial counseling component offers tailored planning support covering financial diagnostics, income and expenditure, investment, and credit and debt management. Topic-specific lectures are also available — covering economic literacy, financial investment, real estate, insurance analysis and debt management — and interested participants can sign up for classes suited to their needs.

A survey by the Korea Financial Planning Association found that participants who stayed in the program for two or more years saw their net assets grow by 45 percent — rising from 64.7 million won ($47,600) at their initial consultation to 93.67 million won at their follow-up. One participant said the participant was satisfied that counselors "listened kindly to my situation and gave realistic advice," adding that the program "helped me build a plan that took into account not just financial information but also the context of my life and my goals — it felt like a source of comfort."

As of Friday, Youth Young-tech is accepting applications on a rolling basis. Those seeking counseling can apply through the program's website.


hope@heraldcorp.com