Six programs across three areas begin this month at the Songpa Youth Center, covering mentoring by corporate professionals, generative AI and live-commerce training, and grants of up to 500,000 won for youth community groups
Seoul's Songpa-gu is rolling out a tailored support initiative to help young residents build employment and entrepreneurship skills and expand their social networks.
The district announced it will operate six youth programs across three areas — employment, entrepreneurship and networking — at the Songpa Youth Center starting this month.
The initiative focuses on giving young people practical opportunities to develop their own capabilities and plan for the future, rather than simply receiving government benefits.
On the employment side, the district will run corporate mentoring sessions and generative AI training. A program called "Songpa Incumbent Job Talk" brings professionals from large and mid-sized companies in the area together to share hands-on work experience and job-search tips. It runs for 11 sessions, with about eight participants per session.
A separate "Songpa AI Station" course lets participants practice using generative AI for market research, marketing planning and promotional content creation. The five-session course targets 100 young people in total.
The entrepreneurship track focuses on online sales and small-business management. A live-commerce course walks participants through product sales strategy, broadcast planning, studio filming and mock broadcasts across five sessions for 100 people.
A "Youth Small-Business Growth Networking" program covers AI-based store marketing, tax strategy, and store display and design, while also supporting networking and collaboration among participants. It runs for three sessions with up to 10 people each.
To help young residents build social connections, the district has also prepared a "Neighborhood Book Lounge" — an after-work reading group held with authors and other guests, running for three sessions of up to 10 participants each.
A youth community grant program called "Songparo" will select 10 groups that have been active for at least three months, have five or more members and are at least half composed of Songpa-gu residents. Selected groups will receive four weeks of activity space and up to 500,000 won ($373) per team in activity funding.
Songpa-gu has also been broadening youth participation in policymaking. A youth festival held at Seokchon Lake in September drew more than 1,000 residents and young people, with members of the Songpa Youth Policy Network involved in planning and running the event. In October, a 23-member Songpa Youth Policy Research Group identified and proposed 24 policy ideas across six areas and published them in a standalone volume.
The district plans to strengthen its youth support framework through an organizational restructuring that will create a dedicated youth affairs office overseeing youth policy and employment support, anchored by the Songpa Youth Center and the Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center.
"In an era when windows of opportunity are narrowing, the district's role is to back young people so they can stand on their own feet and grow by their own efforts," Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We will build Songpa into a youth-friendly city where young people can realize their potential through creativity and passion."
Applications and further details are available on the Songpa-gu website and the Songpa Youth Center blog.
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