1. Employment Support for Vocational High School Students

[News Script]
Gyeonggi Province willthe second stage of the Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Custom Project for vocational high school students in the province. This projectdrawing the attention of many who anticipate that it will firmly take root as an advanced program of Gyeonggi Province for the successful employment of vocational high school students.

[Report]
The Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Project for vocational high school studentsa support program that Gyeonggi Province launched this year to help students without university degrees to find jobs after completing professional education.

This project consists of educational classes, special lectureson-site experience programs for the strengthening of the employment potential of participating students as well as follow-up support for employment placementpost-employment support for successful work adaptation.

The first stage project completed in the first half of this year saw participation153 third grade studentsfive vocational schools in the province. So far 37, or 25% of the participants, have successfully found jobs at Samsung Electronics, Taesan (태산) LCDother companies. Employment placement for the remaining participantsstill in progress.

Gyeonggi Province began the second stage of the Gyeonggi Youth New Deal Custom Project on August 30th.

A total of 160 third grade students6 vocational high schools in the province will participate in this second project. After four weeks of vocational trainingindividual consultation, students will be provided with two weeks of special lecturesworking professionals as well as on-site visits. They will then receive six weeks intensive employment support. The final employment rate for the second project participants will be disclosed in February next year.

2. West Coast of Gyeonggi Province, a Base for Public Cooperation

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With an unbelievable annual average growth rate of 9.6%, China, already one of the G20 nations, continues its economic expansion with intimidating speed. Such rapid growth of the Chinese economyevoking a sense of the importance of Sino-Korean cooperation among Koreans. Accordingly, the Gyeonggi Research Institute held a political forum to discuss the future development of Sino-Korean relations. Among the topics that were discussed, a focal point was the development of a regional policy for the West Coast of Gyeonggi Province in relation to the advancement of the Chinese economy.

[Report]
The Gyeonggi Research Institute, the Korean Association of TradeIndustry StudiesPyeongtaek (평택) City jointly held a political forum on ‘The Future Development of Sino-Korean Relations.’ The participating economistsSino-Korean relation specialists unanimously agreed that Chinaa new land of opportunity for Korea and, therefore, Korea should strengthen cooperation with China.

A researcher of the Gyeonggi Research Institute, Dr. Kim Eun-Gyeong (김은경), stated in her presentation on the ‘Current Status of the Pan-Yellow Sea Economic Blocthe Role of the Capital Area’ that the formation of a pan-Yellow Sea economic bloc will be an important strategic move for the economic growth of Korea. She also asserted that Gyeonggi Province will become a major gateway for this pan-Yellow Sea economic bloc.

One of the participants stated that Gyeonggi Province, particularly Pyeongtaek (평택) City, with its ample industrialtransportation infrastructure, would benefit morestrengthened cooperation between KoreaChina than any other region,stressed that new west coast development strategies must be established to keep pace with increasing trade with China.

Let us hope that the West Coast will become the center of a pan-Yellow Sea economic blocemerge as a new driving force of the localKorean economy.

3. New Super Quality Makgolli Brewed with Golden RiceGimpo

[News Script]
The surging popularity of Makgolli (막걸리), a traditional unrefined Korean rice wine, has hit Korean drinking culture with unprecedented force. A new super quality makgolli, (막걸리) brewed with Gimpo Golden Rice of (김포), has appeared in the marketis attracting makgolli (막걸리) lovers.

[Report]
The Gimpo Golden Rice Makgolli (막걸리) Farm Corporation opened a Gimpo Golden Rice Makgolli (막걸리) Brewery in Haseong-Myeon (하성면) of Gimpo (김포) City.

On an 850 square meter site, the farm corporation has built a modern brewery with automatic tems.

This brewery will produce 138 tons of makgolli (막걸리) monthly using 16.6 tons of rice. Each stage in the process –the steaming of ricemalting to fermentationpackaging –carefully controlledoperators.

The superior quality of this new makgolli (막걸리)assured since itbrewed with Gimpo Golden Rice which, along with Imgeumnimpyo (임금님표) riceIcheon (이천)Ganghwa (강화) Island rice, one of the most expensive rice brands.

The price of Golden Rice Makgolli (막걸리)KRW 1900 per bottle, whichKRW 600 more expensive than existing makgolli (막걸리) brands that use imported rice. However, its high-brand strategyexpected to draw positive responsesconsumers.

4. Gyeonggi Province to Provide Nutritional Food Support to N. Korean Infants & Children

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Gyeonggi Province plans to provide support for infantschildren in North Koreasupplying them with nutritional foods on the grandest scale ever attemptedany local government. The provincial government will implement this plan in cooperation with private charity organizations.

[Report]
Gyeonggi Province joined with private organizations to provide North Korean children with baby foods.

Gyeonggi Province signed an MOU with private charity organizations, Nambuknanum (남북나눔)World Vision for the supply of powdered milkbaby foods worth KRW 300 million to infantsyoung children in nurseries in North Hwanghae (황해) Province in North Korea.

This support project will help 5000 infantsyoung children in this region to stay healthy for more than six months.

This projectthe largest ever implementeda local government,itan on-going project that will provide substantial assistance in maintaining the nutritional health of North Korean children.

Gyeonggi Province has been leading local governments in North-South exchange activities. For example, a provincial delegation visited North Korea for the first time to deliver supplies for joint malaria epidemic control on August 17th. Gyeonggi Province will make multilateral efforts for the implementation of comprehensive policies for reunification such as holding an international conference on the improvement of human rights in North Korea.

5. G-Mark Agricultural Products Now Available in Northern Gyeonngi

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G-mark agricultural products, which are officially certified as high quality agricultural products of Gyeonggi Province, are now available for purchaseresidents in the northern part of the province. A new exclusive G-mark products booth opened in Goyang (고양) City.

[Report]

A new exclusive sales booth for high quality G-mark agricultural products certifiedthe Governor of Gyeonggi Province opened in Goyang (고양) City. Itthe second of its kind to open in a distribution center of the Gyeonggi Agricultural Cooperative following the first one in Suwon (수원) City.

A total of 22 products34 companies consisting of G-mark Gyeonggi agricultural brandsspecial Goyang (고양) City agricultural brands including Haengjuchima (행주치마) products are sold in this exclusive booth.

The opening of exclusive sales booths for G-mark products willonly secure a stable sales channel for producers but also provide residents with easy access to high quality agricultural products.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-Soo (김문수)Goyang (고양) City Mayor Choi Seong (최성) served as one-day sales clerks to promote G-mark productsHaengjuchima (행주치마) brands.

Sales of G-mark products in the first half of this year amounted to a record KRW 349 billion, showing rapid growth compared with KRW 151 billion for the same period last year. Gyeonggi Province will continue to expand its G-mark certification tempromote public recognition of the G-mark through various promotional activities.

6. Gyeonggi Province Supports Family-friendly Companies
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Creating a favorable working environment for employeesimportant for both the satisfaction of employeesthe company’s productivity. Gyeonggi Province decided to ten companies of different sizes in the province that are engaging in family-friendly management practicesprovide them with financialtechnical support

[Report]

The principle of family-friendly managementcreating harmony between life in the workplacelife at home. But how many companies in Gyeonggi Province are actually practicing family-friendly management?

According to a survey of 303 companies conductedthe Korea Chamber of Commerce last year, slightly more than half were found to practice family-friendly management.

The results of the survey indicated that family-friendly management had positive effects in improving the satisfaction of employees as well as reducing the rate of employee turnover.

For the first time among local governments, Gyeonggi Province plans to 10 companiesa list of candidate companiesassessing the extent to which family-friendly managementpracticed.

The 10 ed companies will be entitled to receive 20 types of incentives provided8 institutes including 5 additional evaluation points when applying for SmallMedium Industry Development Funding, 0.5% preferential interest on financing, 5 additional evaluation points in a trade fund financing projecttechnical doctor priority support.

Any company in Gyeonggi Province that was established more than 5 years agohas more than 50 employeeseligible for ion. Applications will be accepted until September 17th.

This project was originally designed as part of countermeasures against the low birth rate, but itexpected to have the additional benefit of improving the productivity of companiescreating a favorable work environment.

7. Title: Party for Multicultural Families

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Gyeonggi Province organizedhosted a party for multicultural families so as to provide them with the opportunity to socializeovercome the sense of social isolation. There was also a surprise event in which a foreign family member had a surprise visither familyoverseas.

[Report]

A party was held to improve recognition of multicultural familiesboost the morale of the local multicultural family community.

The residents of the northern part of Gyeonggi Provincemore than 700 multicultural family members attended the event. There was a talent showparticipants as well as a variety of cultural performances.

A special surprise event was organized in which a Viese woman, Choi Eun-seo (최은서), who was the winner of a letter-writing contest, had a surprise visither familyVietnam.

There are 337,821 foreigners living in Gyeonggi Province alone, more than in any other autonomy in Korea. Among them, approximately 200,000 are workers30,000 are women immigrantsmarriage, accounting for a total of 73%.

This event was an opportunity for the participants to become familiar with a variety of racescultures. Continuous care for multicultural families will be necessary so as to ensure their inclusion in Korean society as a whole.