Hwaseong City's 'Hwaseong-style Youth Policy' Recognized for Excellence

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Hwaseong Special City received the Grand Prize at the '2025 8th Youth-Friendly Dedication Awards' hosted by the Youth and Future Association under the supervision of the National Assembly Affairs Office on the 13th.

The Youth-Friendly Dedication Awards is a commendation given by the Youth and Future Association under the National Assembly Affairs Office to recognize the achievements and contributions of institutions that have contributed to creating a youth-friendly environment. Starting with the 1st Awards in 2018, this year marks the 8th edition. Hwaseong City was recognized for achieving balanced results across four categories including youth policy, communication and participation, and youth activity support.

In particular, the city earned high praise for consistently strengthening various youth policies aimed at making Hwaseong a city where young people want to live and stay, including △Youth Employment Support Center (established as Gyeonggi Province's first specialized employment support agency for youth employment and self-reliance), △Yeonji-Gonji Passbook (Hwaseong's first-of-its-kind low birth rate response policy nationwide), and △Youth Policy Council (a policy development body led by youth).

Following the 'Communication Award' in 2023, the city continues to attract attention from local governments across the nation and youth policy experts by winning the Grand Prize this year. This is the result of consistently implementing customized policies that reflect the practical needs of youth, taking into account the regional characteristic that Hwaseong has the second-largest youth population (approximately 320,000 as of August 2025) within Gyeonggi Province.

In particular, the city newly established the Youth and Adolescent Policy Division in January 2023 and subdivided it into the Youth Policy Team, Youth Support Team, and Youth Employment Team to strengthen the policy implementation system. Subsequently, the city established the "Youth Policy Basic Plan" (2025-2029) and is implementing systematic and comprehensive support covering all aspects of youth life, including housing, employment, welfare, and expanded participation.

The '2025 Hwaseong City Youth Policy Implementation Plan' comprises a total of 62 projects across five sectors—employment, housing, education, welfare and culture, and participation and rights—being promoted by 19 departments, including new projects such as △youth home repairs and moving expense support, △youth policy idea contests, and △Hwaseong Special City youth overseas training program support. The city plans to invest approximately 63 billion won in the budget by the end of this year.

To share the results of these policies with young people, the city will hold the "2025 Youth Day Commemorative Event" at 2 p.m. on the 20th (Saturday) at Dongtan Central Park Soccer Field.

This year's event slogan is 'Refresh Playground (Refresh, Finding Your True Self)' and is designed to allow young people to step away from their daily lives, take a moment to rest, reflect on themselves, and gain new vitality. In particular, the Hwaseong City Youth Policy Council directly participated in planning the event to create an event where youth take center stage, and diverse performance, experience, and participation programs have been prepared for young people and citizens to enjoy together.

The event is structured in three parts. Part 1 begins at 2:30 p.m. with a △pre-event (Refresh) where the youth band 'Bento' and youth dance team 'Eight Shadow' will take the stage to convey youth's passion. This will be followed by the screening of a promotional video on Hwaseong Special City's youth policies and sharing the real stories of youth support project participants.

Part 2 is the △commemorative ceremony (Challenge) held from 3 p.m. Awards and commendations will be presented to winners of the newly implemented youth policy idea contest and youth contributors, and the 'Youth Declaration' written directly by the Youth Policy Council will be read together. The declaration will embody the determination and challenges of youth and will be a symbolic moment representing the vision of Hwaseong City's youth policy.

Part 3 is △participation programs and youth performances (Finding Your True Self, Being Myself). Through participation programs such as youth MBTI balance games and recreational activities, young people will have an opportunity to share thoughts and build common ground. Additionally, Suwon University's hip-hop club 'Flavor', Jangan University's practical music band, Hwaseong Science University's Taekwondo demonstration team, and youth DJ 'Zero Back' will take the stage to showcase diverse performances.

Meanwhile, the event venue will operate various promotional and experience booths including the Youth Support Center, Youth Employment Support Center, and Youth Policy Council. CPR training, introduction and one-on-one customized consulting for youth public housing, abandoned animal adoption promotion, university student experience programs, and eco-friendly activity experiences from youth businesses will also be available.

In particular, fencing gold medalist Kim Jun-ho and track and field national representative Kim Min-ji will hold fan signing sessions to create special memories for youth.

Additionally, mission card events, stamp tours, and face logs such as 'Today's Me, Today's Expression' will be held to further enrich the event atmosphere.

Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun stated, "This Youth Day event is especially meaningful as it is held shortly after Hwaseong Special City won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Youth-Friendly Dedication Awards," and added, "It will be a meaningful time to share the achievements of policies we have pursued to change the lives of Hwaseong's youth and to have young people's voices lead to Hwaseong's future vision."