The Taipei City Government’s Department for Youth is advancing youth career development by guiding young people into real international industry settings. In 2025, the Department launched the Taipei Youth Overseas Career Exploration Visit Program, selecting six Taipei youth with a strong interest in fashion to take part in an immersive learning experience in Seoul from December 13 to 16. As one of Taipei’s sister cities and a leading fashion hub in Asia, Seoul offers a living context where cultural creativity, industry operations, and global markets intersect. The program is designed not as a tour but as a process that helps youth observe the industry on-site, connect fragmented knowledge, and gradually build a comprehensive understanding of how the fashion ecosystem functions internationally.
Structured around the theme “Career Exploration × Immersive Fashion Learning,” the program placed participants inside multiple layers of the fashion industry, from creative design and digital production to sustainability practices and wholesale supply chains. Led by Stephanie Wen, Executive Director of the Taiwan Association of Fashion and Accessories Designers, the learning journey connected brand experiences, design platforms, technology labs, and market spaces. Through direct dialogue with industry professionals—including Jung Ku-ho, former Executive Director of Seoul Fashion Week, and Korean designers from Centre Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS)—participants explored how fashion operates as an integrated system linking culture, commerce, and the city itself. Site visits to Seoul National University (SNU), the TG3D industry-academia team, and Seoul Upcycling Plaza (SUP) further expanded their understanding of how digital tools and sustainability are reshaping industry workflows and future directions.
Coming from diverse educational backgrounds, participants experienced how fashion communicates across cultures and responds rapidly to global markets. Through learning in districts such as Seongsu-dong, Hannam-dong, Myeongdong, Hongdae, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and major wholesale markets, as well as visits to HiKR Ground at the Seoul Tourism Organization, youth engaged with the language, rhythm, and expectations of the industry in real time. Many shared that the experience helped transform abstract interest into clearer career orientation—revealing multiple professional pathways beyond traditional roles and encouraging them to reflect on where their skills and aspirations may fit in the future. Commissioner of the Department for Youth, Yi-Hsi Chou, noted that such site-based, cross-cultural learning enables young people to connect global observation with personal growth, forming a foundation for long-term career development in an increasingly interconnected world.
