• On September 3, researchers from Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University visited Seoul’s Out-of-School Youth Comprehensive Support Center
  • Researchers and educators from abroad continue to visit Seoul, including the past two visits by Tanzanian representatives in July and house representatives from Japan in August this year.
  • Seoul’s comprehensive support system covers all phases, from rebuilding relationships and engaging in social activities to gaining independence and taking on new challenges, for isolated and socially withdrawn teenagers.
  • The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, “Support will be provided closely and thoroughly, from rebuilding relationships and seeking careers to gaining independence. We will further develop this policy by sharing our practices at a global level.”

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, September 3, 2026 – International visitors are coming to Seoul’s Out-of-School Youth Support Center to learn more about the city’s comprehensive support policy for out-of-school teenagers. Following visits by Tanzanian educators in July and
Japan’s House of Representatives and youth educators in August, researchers from a Japanese university will visit the center on September 3 to review cases of socially isolated and withdrawn youth who were supported in regaining independence and rebuilding social relationships.

Regarding support for out-of-school youth, the Seoul Metropolitan Government holds that they are not simply students who should return to school but rather young individuals who require various forms of support in education, careers, mentoring, mental well-being, activities, and independence.
The comprehensive support system run by the SMG aims to provide tailored support to youth in different situations and with different needs.

<Laying the foundations for on-the-ground exchanges and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Japan for socially isolated and withdrawn youth on the occasion of Japanese researchers’ visit to Seoul on September 3>

On September 3 (Thu), Professor Yamao Takanori of the Department of Modern Sociology at Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University and his fellow researchers will visit the Out-of-School Youth Support Center in Seoul. They will review cases in which out-of-school and socially isolated teenagers received
support to rebuild relationships and gain independence, and then discuss support methods in the two countries.

Their research visit will be an opportunity to share Seoul’s out-of-school youth support policy, which covers a full cycle, from restoring relationships and engaging in social activities to building independence and taking on new challenges, and to compare the two nations’ policies in the same
area.

<On August 24 (Mon), a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and the National Institution for Youth Education in Japan visited Seoul to look closely at its out-of-school youth support policy>

Previously, on August 24 (Mon), Tomoko Ukishima, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, and the National Institution for Youth Education, an independent administrative institution based in Japan, visited the center to closely review Seoul’s out-of-school support system and key
projects underway.

<In July this year, Tanzanian educators came to Seoul to explore the possibility of adopting Seoul’s out-of-school youth support system>

The first international interest in the city’s out-of-school youth support system was confirmed when Tanzanian education authorities visited Seoul on July 9 (Thu).

The Tanzanian education authorities included the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST); the Institute of Adult Education (IAE); and the Prime Minister’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG). They reviewed how Seoul operates a comprehensive support
system, from identifying out-of-school teenagers to helping them achieve independence.

<To ensure that out-of-school youth can find pathways and receive the necessary support for their next step…>

The SMG currently operates a one-stop online platform where adolescents and youth can access the information they need and receive step-by-step support tailored to their situations and needs through the center’s official website.