Jeonbuk International Development Cooperation Center (Director Baek Sook-hee) held the “Jeonbuk YP Gaegonggam” event on October 1 at the Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) International Center, Donghaeng Hall.

“Jeonbuk YP Gaegonggam” is an event in which young people who have served as KOICA Young Professionals (YP) share their experiences to foster understanding of development cooperation and resolve questions. Young people from the Jeonbuk region who served as KOICA Young Professionals (YP) as part of work-experience programs from the second half of 2024 through the first half of 2025 attended the event. 

Participants included alumni who had worked at four institutions that recruited YPs in the second half of 2025 in the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province. The participating organizations were Jeonbuk International Development Cooperation Center (Kim Ryeong-eun, Kwak Min-ji), Jeonbuk International Cooperation Promotion Institute (Jang Ji-yun), TNT Research (So Hong-su), and Jeonju Kijeon College (Yu Min-young). Based on seven months of hands-on experience, the presenters provided practical information and career guidance to young people interested in development cooperation. 

Attendees candidly shared each organization’s projects, motivations for applying to YP, skills gained through work experiences, and the strengths and limitations they encountered. They also discussed possible institutional improvements and cooperation measures, post-assignment career plans, and program information, together exploring visions for becoming future ODA professionals. In particular, exchanges between YP alumni and prospective applicants helped strengthen a region-based youth network.

At the focused Q&A session, Kim Sang-woo, Director of the Development Cooperation Talent Project Office, who oversees KOICA’s YP program, participated and addressed participants’ pre-submitted and on-site questions. Kim said, “Through this ‘Jeonbuk YP Gaegonggam’ outcomes-sharing meeting, the practical ODA experience of Jeonbuk youth has been widely disseminated, and we were able to provide clear career directions to juniors interested in international development cooperation.”

As of the second half of 2025, KOICA recruited YPs from 155 implementing organizations nationwide. Only 40 of these organizations—including three based in Jeonbuk—were located outside the Seoul metropolitan area, accounting for just 26% of the total. This indicates that, compared with the metropolitan area, opportunities for regional youth to gain experience in the international development cooperation field remain limited. Nevertheless, through this outcomes-sharing meeting, Jeonbuk youth voluntarily shared their experiences and expanded their networks, which carries important meaning as a sign of hope that they can leap beyond regional limits onto the global stage.

The first presenter, student Kim Ryeong-eun (Department of Food Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, JBNU), said that through the KOICA YP experience, “my perspective on the world changed, and because I gained a better understanding of myself, I was able to set my future career goals.”

Baek Sook-hee, Director of the Jeonbuk International Development Cooperation Center, stated, “We will continue to expand Jeonbuk youth participation in ODA and work to strengthen the region-based development cooperation ecosystem to cultivate global talent.”

*KOICA Young Professionals (YP) Program 

The KOICA Young Professionals (YP) program provides work experience both domestically and overseas. Unemployed youth aged 19 to 34 are eligible to apply. Domestic YPs work for seven months at development cooperation implementing organizations (NGOs, universities, research institutions, etc.), while overseas YPs may serve up to one year, working six months each at 44 KOICA offices and in missions to developing countries.