50 Young People From 31 Countries Head to Jeju... Co-Designing Responses to Climate Challenges and the Digital Divide

【Financial News | Jeju—Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】 Fifty young people from 31 countries around the world will seek common solutions in Jeju to the climate crisis, digital divide and economic uncertainty. The 2026 Jeju International Youth Forum, which will compare local issues in each country and develop practical measures, opens on the 18th.
On the 15th, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the UNITAR Jeju International Training Center said that the 2026 Jeju International Youth Forum (JIFF) will be held from the 18th to the 20th at the Jeju International Peace Center, Jeju Aerospace Hotel and other venues. The event is hosted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and organized by the UNITAR Jeju International Training Center.
The forum, now in its fifth edition, is expected to bring together 50 young people, including young people from Jeju and elsewhere in Korea, international students enrolled at Korean universities, and young people from overseas, including those from Jeju’s sister and friendship cities.
This year’s theme is “Rewriting Resilience in Jeju: A Sustainable Future Co-Created by Young People.” The forum focuses on changes in climate, economic and technological conditions that vary from country to country and region to region, and on young people directly assessing community problems and developing practical measures.
The key concept, “resilience,” is the capacity to withstand shocks when a crisis occurs, adapt to changed circumstances and maintain the functions of a community. The forum will address not only climate disasters and economic shocks but also disparities in opportunities to access digital technology, which can affect a community’s ability to respond.
The forum consists of a three-day program of lectures, discussions, field trips and drafting joint proposals. Participants will compare local issues in their countries, analyze the challenges to be addressed and the stakeholders involved, and develop action plans suited to local conditions.
On the first day, the 18th, Kim Jeong-tae, CEO of MYSC, will deliver a keynote address on “From Ideas to Change: A Resilient Community Co-Designed by Young People.”
In the following “Conversation with Youth” session, participants will share crises they have experienced in their respective regions and examples of how they responded. Group discussions will identify issues to address collectively and challenges to tackle.
On the 19th, participants will visit the Jeju Onggi Museum and Tamnara Republic. At the Jeju Onggi Museum, they will explore the relationship between traditional techniques and local communities; at Tamnara Republic, they will learn about an example in which a space was reconfigured using discarded resources.
The Jeju field trip will give participants a chance to examine regional issues in their own countries from a different perspective. They will compare issues raised in their countries with examples from Jeju involving culture, the environment and the use of resources, and develop concrete solutions that could be applied in their regions.
On the final day, the 20th, each group will present its joint proposal and action plan. After reviewing one another’s work, participants are expected to refine their proposals and set out practical tasks that can be applied in different regions.
The Jeju International Youth Forum was launched in 2022. It is an international exchange program created to help young people engage with economic, social and environmental issues and explore solutions that can be put into practice locally, based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The joint proposals and discussion outcomes from this year’s forum are expected to inform future event planning and follow-up activities.

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