1. Research Goals and Methods

❚ Research Background and Goals

￮ (Background) Currently experiencing a continued decline, the region’s youth population (9–24 years old) is expected to account for only about 10% of the total population by 2060. Jeonbuk, meanwhile, is facing the  following challenges: 1) a steady increase in the number of at-risk, vulnerable, and protected youth, 2) deepening social, economic, and cultural polarization between its municipalities, and 3) abrupt changes and diversification in the youth development environment. These changes imply that youth development policies must be tailored to meet the increasingly complex and multifaceted demands arising across various sectors.

￮ (Goals) To support the healthy development of its youth, we propose that Jeonbuk formulate integrated and sustainable policy roadmaps along with related action plans based on 1) the synergistic incorporation of various communities’ human and physical resources into policy support services, and 2) close collaboration between local governments and offices of education.

❚ Research Content

￮ 1) Establishing theoretical concepts for overall youth development support through reviews of literature on the conceptual definition of youth development support, policy necessity, and structural and functional requirements for promoting youth development support; 2) analyzing the features and progress of relevant policies implemented by the central and Jeonbuk governments while conducting case studies of other local governments’ development support; 3) examining the characteristics of the youth populations in the central and Jeonbuk regions and assessing the status of Jeonbuk’s development support policies to identify policy  demands; and (4) presenting the vision and action plans of policy roadmaps for youth development support, the prerequisite of which is close cooperation between Jeonbuk State Government (cities and counties in Jeonbuk) and Jeonbuk Provincial Office of Education (District Offices of Education in Jeonbuk).

❚ Research Scope and Methods

￮ (Scope) This study researched 14 cities and counties in Jeonbuk State from March to October 2025.

￮ (Methods) Research methods included 1) literature reviews and analyses of administrative data, 2) case studies on development support policies of other local governments (including governance), 3) a statistical analysis of data provided by Statistics Korea, and 4) in-depth interviews and expert advisory sessions.

2. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

❚ Implications for Promoting Jeonbuk’s Youth Growth Support Polices

￮ The study found that promoting Jeonbuk’s youth development support policies requires 1) laying a legal and institutional foundation (e.g.,developing master plans and enacting or amending ordinances), 2) cultivating human resources (coordinators) dedicated to overall management and coordination of development support policies and, as a long-term objective, establishing a secretariat (team structure/intermediate support organizations), 3) reinforcing collaboration between local governments and Provincial and District Offices of Education to secure the budget and administrative capacity necessary for implementing development support policies, and 4) operating development support networks at the metropolitan local government level to ensure policy consistency across basic local governments, efficient resource allocation, and stable and effective networks. 

❚ The Vision, Roadmaps, and Detailed Action Plans (draft) for Jeonbuk’s Youth Growth Support Polices

￮ The vision is centered on “fostering the inside-outside connection of school (cooperation),” “accelerating regional development (settlement),” and “creating Jeonbuk development support ecosystems led by its youth (participation).” To achieve the vision, we proposed three policy roadmaps and 17 detailed action plans (draft).

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