KIM Yusol

Village Head, Yongam Village, Wando, Jeollanam-do Province

KIM Yusol
Times of the Remarks 2024. 11. 12. 11:45-12:10
Title Panel Talk

What does life look like for young people in provincial areas? Can these areas actually be considered inhabitable by young people? As a twenty-year old village head, KIM Yusol is demonstrating how young people can live life in provincial areas. Through the Youth Village project, she is also providing young people with the opportunity to try living in Wando. In her capacity as village head, she spends her time exploring ways to assist young people to successfully settle down in provincial areas, offering examples of how cultural activities can be encouraged and promoted through such initiatives as flea markets, exhibits, and urban regeneration programs. As someone who “went south” to be able to live life doing what she wants to do, she is a testament to many young people of the possibilities afforded by life outside the big cities as well as the potential for discovering one’s authentic self in unexpected places.


[Session Title and Description]

Where Can I Live?

Most anyone with ambition wants to aim higher, or go where things are better. The natural outcome of this logic is the vanishing of populations in provincial areas. This session considers a new alternative: Wando, farther from Korea’s nexus Seoul than even Jeju Island. It’s a place where everything that was once considered a downside can be transformed into an upside. Through one ordinary but remarkable life, we discover the potential of the provinces to become a true home to young people.