Gwangmyeong City's Youth Policy Shines…Eight-Year Consecutive Win of Youth-Friendly Commendation Award
Gwangmyeong City, which has consistently reflected the voices of youth in its policies, once again demonstrated the excellence of its youth policies this year.
The city announced on the 21st that it received the 'Communication Award' for outstanding youth-friendly basic municipality policy at the 2026 Youth-Friendly Commendation Awards. This marks eight consecutive years of winning the award, excluding 2020 when the award was not held, from 2018 to 2026.
The 'Youth-Friendly Commendation Award' is a system that selects and honors local governments that have contributed to creating youth-friendly environments, overseen by the organization Youth and Future. Award-winning local governments are selected based on a comprehensive evaluation of youth participation structures, youth support projects, and youth-related events, using youth-friendly indices in the policy, legislation, and communication sectors.
Since 2019, the city has operated a Youth Committee directly under the mayor with 50 members, and held youth deliberative budgeting forums to discover and propose youth policies worth approximately 5 billion won annually, thereby expanding the foundation for youth to propose and participate in policies.
The city has consistently provided platforms for communication where young people can directly share ideas and engage in activities together. In the youth meeting support project, which has been ongoing since 2019 and creatively addresses sustainable topics such as environment, climate, and small-capital entrepreneurship, 304 teams and 1,565 young people have participated in the 'Youth Idea Unfolding Project,' while various communication venues have been established including 'Youth: Re;born (Ribbon),' directly planned by youth, and the Youth Convention (G.Y.F).
In particular, youth spaces have been created by reflecting young people's opinions from naming to spatial composition, and their functions are being expanded to meet youth needs.
'Youth Dong,' a complex cultural space for youth that opened in the Cheolsan area in 2021, was visited by 57,096 people in 2025 and was selected as Gyeonggi Province's top-rated youth space for two consecutive years.
Following this, in 2024, 'Second Youth Dong Cheongsun Warehouse' specialized in economic independence and job preparation was established in the Gwangmyeong area. Plans are underway to create 'Third Youth Dong (tentative name),' a health-specialized space for promoting youth health, in the Iljik area.
The city is expanding region-specific youth spaces by operating an entrepreneurship support center in the Soha area that supports all stages from startup preparation to growth, thereby backing diverse youth activities and needs.
Support for stable living and self-reliance among youth is also being strengthened. The city has supported 1,516 households through special youth monthly rent support and plans to supply 152 units of youth housing. It is supporting employment and capability development through free interview suit rentals for 845 cases and 3,349 people through youth capacity-building opportunities, underpinning economic self-reliance for youth.
Additionally, through support projects for isolated and reclusive youth and 'LIME,' the nation's first public basic relationship platform, the city is supporting psychological stability and social relationships among youth, establishing a foundation for everyone to maintain stable lives.
Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won stated, "Eight consecutive years of winning awards is an achievement created together with young people who have listened to youth voices and participated in policies," and added, "We will firmly establish basics such as housing, employment, and welfare in young people's lives and will provide seamless support so that youth can proactively design their futures and grow as subjects of the city."