On the 18th, Sejong City Jochiwon Youth Center (Center Director Hwang Sang-mi) successfully held the Jochiwon-eup Village Festival “The Store We Green” planned by youth and attended by local residents in the front yard of Jochiwon-eup Happy Nurimteo.
This event was selected and promoted as part of the Sejong City Community Chest of Korea’s 2025 planning project, “Sejong City Free Theme Contest for Children and Youth: Sejong I (Child) Dream).”
This project, themed as ‘Jochiwon-eup Village Festival led by youth and with the village,’ is scheduled to be carried out sequentially with a total of five themes until June 2026, and the first of them, ‘We Green Store’, is a youth-led festival with the theme of upcycling and environmental protection, and includes environmental experience booths, food markets, participation events, prize drawings, etc. A variety of programs have been prepared.
Local residents of various generations, from infants to the elderly, participated at the event venue.
We communicated at an upcycling experience booth run by youth and reflected on the meaning of environmental practices.
In particular, the ‘Zero Waste‘ method, which provides free food if you bring your own container, received a great response, and laughter and applause continued during the prize drawing, which was directly hosted by the Youth Planning Team.
Kim Min-gyeol, a youth from the village festival planning team at Jochiwon Youth Center, said, “At first, planning a festival was daunting, but I was proud that the idea we created was actually realized in the village.” He added, “Through this environment-themed festival, I gained confidence that ‘youth can also change the region.’”
Center Director Hwang Sang-mi said, “This festival was a meaningful attempt by youth to create changes in the community on their own,” and added, “The next festivals, which contain various topics such as culture, generational exchange, and sharing as well as the environment, will be a place where the region and youth grow together.”
Meanwhile, the Jochiwon-eup Village Festival, which is being promoted as part of the ‘Sejong I (Child) Dream)’ project, is scheduled to continue with a total of five themes until June next year, and is expected to develop into a community-type festival where youth are at the center and regions and generations come together.
Sejong = Reporter Yoon So yso6649@viva100.com
