Senior and junior civil servants gather at the district office for a reverse-mentoring session led by a professional facilitator in an interview and talk-show format, freely exchanging experiences and knowledge
The program featured three segments: "Now-How," where participants learned short-form video production; "Know-How," a sharing of on-the-job experience; and "Culture Talk," a discussion on organizational culture.
Seocho-gu in Seoul held a reverse-mentoring event Tuesday morning at the district office's fifth-floor conference room, bringing together senior-ranking civil servants and junior staff at grades 8 and 9 to exchange experiences and knowledge across generational and hierarchical lines, promoting a culture of mutual respect and open communication.
Reverse mentoring departs from the traditional model in which senior employees teach their juniors. Instead, junior and senior civil servants take turns as mentor and mentee in a two-way exchange of knowledge and experience.
Rather than a formal meeting or briefing, the event was run in an interview and talk-show format led by a professional facilitator, allowing participants to speak freely regardless of rank or generation.
The program unfolded in three segments: "Now-How," in which participants learned from younger colleagues; "Know-How," drawing on lessons from experience; and "Culture Talk," where both sides discussed the kind of organizational culture they hoped to build.
Junior civil servants opened by teaching their senior colleagues how to produce short-form videos, while the senior staff shared practical know-how and problem-solving strategies accumulated on the job. The session then moved to a free-form discussion in which junior employees spoke candidly about the workplace culture they wanted and what they hoped to see from their superiors, giving both sides a chance to understand each other's perspectives and working styles.
The event broadened mutual understanding across generations and ranks by combining the fresh perspectives of junior staff with the accumulated experience of senior officials.
The district office plans to continue offering a range of programs aimed at deepening trust among staff and spreading a culture of integrity, grounded in mutual respect and open communication.
"An organization's growth requires both the experience of its sunbae and the fresh perspectives of its juniors," Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said. "We will keep building an organizational culture where people learn from and respect one another across generations and ranks by sharing their experiences and ideas."
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