On March 11, Gyeonggi Province began accepting applications for the “Adolescent Menstrual Product Support Project,” which provides adolescent females with KRW 13,000 per month to purchase menstrual products. The application deadline is April 19.

In accordance with the revision of the “Gyeonggi Ordinance on Menstrual Product Support for Women and Adolescents” in October last year, starting this year, support for the purchase of menstrual products will be provided to foreign adolescent females registered in Gyeonggi Province and Korean adolescent females of foreign nationality with reported domestic residence.

The program will provide support to more than 223,000 female adolescents born between 2006 and 2013 (including 4,500 foreigners) in 21 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province. Last year, Gyeonggi Province and 22 municipalities of the province jointly promoted the program; as of December 2023, more than 174,000 female adolescents in the province had received support.

The Adolescent Menstrual Product Support Project was launched in 2021 by Gyeonggi Province, the first metropolitan government in the country to do so. It ensures the right to health for adolescent females by providing local currency to each municipality to support the purchase of menstrual products by individuals to the amount of KRW 13,000 per month and up to KRW 156,000 per year.

The local currency subsidy can only be used to purchase menstrual products at convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, E-Mart 24) in the municipality of the beneficiary’s residence. The subsidy must be used by December 31, 2024, and any unused amount will be automatically forfeited.

Those interested in receiving this support can apply online via the Gyeonggi Citizen 24 website (gg24.gg.go.kr). The first application period of the year runs from March 11 to April 19 (application dates may vary by city and county). In-person applications can be made from March 11 to November 15 at the administrative welfare centers for the applicant’s place of residence. The adolescents themselves, their guardians, or their primary caregivers can apply.

However, applicants for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s project to provide menstrual vouchers to women and adolescents who are recipients of the Basic Livelihood Security, the next lowest legal class, and single-parent family households may not apply for overlapping support.