Yongin's self-sufficiency work program draws national attention

Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il said the city would provide full support to spread Yongin's self-sufficiency brand as a successful model nationwide.

Yongin City's self-sufficiency work program, which helps economically vulnerable residents achieve financial independence, has drawn high marks for its diversified project areas and well-developed planning.

The city-run program provides low-income residents with stable employment and new entrepreneurial opportunities, growing each year as it strengthens both its scale and operational quality.

As of June 30, 11 self-sufficiency work units are operating in Yongin, employing 121 workers. Five self-sufficiency enterprises are also contributing to the economic independence of low-income and vulnerable residents.

Yongin's program has built a self-reliance support system connecting participants to employment and startup opportunities. Specialized initiatives — including one built around the city's mascot "Joayong" — and locally tailored self-sufficiency projects have drawn other local governments to Yongin for benchmarking visits.

On July 4, officials from the Gangwon Province Hongcheon-gun regional self-sufficiency center and the Hongcheon-gun county office visited to study the operating models of the Joayong-themed specialty project, the "Bap-gwa-hamkke Ramyun" ramyun business, and the integrated care-linked local self-sufficiency project. On July 10, the North Chungcheong Province Cheongju regional self-sufficiency center visited Yongin's self-sufficiency work units in preparation for opening its own youth self-sufficiency unit.

Earlier, on May 20, the Gyeonggi Province Siheung Jageun Jari regional self-sufficiency center visited to study three self-sufficiency business models: Joayong goods, Bap-gwa-hamkke Ramyun and Deo Geonganghage, a pet-care business. On April 16, the Danyang regional self-sufficiency center in North Chungcheong Province visited Yongin's "Youth With Pet" workplace to share operating cases of youth-led self-sufficiency projects and benchmark practices for boosting youth self-sufficiency work programs.

At a public-private workshop hosted by the Daejeon chapter of the Korea Regional Self-Sufficiency Center Association on April 16, Yongin's self-sufficiency projects were introduced and participants discussed ways to advance self-sufficiency program operations.

The scale and role of Yongin's self-sufficiency work units are also expanding.

In April, the Yongin Regional Self-Sufficiency Center was selected by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Self-Sufficiency Welfare Development Institute as an implementing agency for a preliminary pilot project to reform the customized self-sufficiency support system, and successfully carried out the work. From July through December, it has been designated a first-round pilot agency and will restructure its work units to match participants' individual capacity for self-reliance.

The program has also produced results in the form of self-sufficiency enterprises that grew out of the work units.

Last year, Huimangnareun Co. was founded and registered as a self-sufficiency enterprise. "Bap-gwa-hamkke Ramyun Branch No. 3," one of the program's success stories, is undergoing self-sufficiency enterprise consulting this year, with plans to convert it into a competitive self-sufficiency enterprise next year.

The city also plans to develop self-sufficiency projects using its mascot "Joayong" and operate citizen-participatory content to enhance the brand's value.