The youth barista club ‘Asta’ run by the Jung-gu Career Experience Support Center is gaining attention. This club, consisting of 13 high school students, learns barista skills and gains practical experience, while also realizing the value of sharing by donating the proceeds from coffee sales to the local community.
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[Korean Today] ‘Asta’, a barista club for young people in Jung-gu who dream with coffee © Reporter Seung-ju Ji |
The youth barista club ‘Asta’ operated by Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Gil-seong Kim) to help youth explore their career paths and grow is gaining attention from the local community. ‘Asta’, consisting of 13 high school students, goes beyond simply learning the skills of making coffee and continues activities to design career paths and practice sharing through this.
Club members are gaining practical experience as baristas by selling coffee twice a month in the cafe space of Jung-gu Education Support Center. They are gradually developing their skills by taking talent donation classes to obtain barista certification and learning practical skills such as how to operate coffee machines.
Noh Chae-hyun (3rd year of high school), a member of the club, said, “At first, I started simply because I liked coffee, but through club activities, I started to dream of becoming a barista and starting my own business.” She added, “It makes me feel proud to see customers enjoying the coffee I make.”
‘Asta’ also has close ties to the local community. Club members participate in various local events such as youth festivals and Sindang-dong village festivals, sell coffee directly, and communicate with residents. They also continue to engage in sharing activities by donating the proceeds from sales.
In particular, since 2022, we have been donating the proceeds from coffee sales to children in need at the Shindang Community Welfare Center at the end of every year. This year, we have donated 300,000 won, establishing ourselves as a warm hand in the local community. In addition, in July of this year, we gave handmade tea to talent donation mentors and local youth, conveying our emotions.
“Our goal is to help young people explore their desired career paths and grow in related fields through ‘Asta,’” said Choi Chang-hoon, head of the Jung-gu Jinro Job Experience Support Center. “I feel a great sense of accomplishment every time I see young people’s work contributing to the local community and growing to the next level through this.”
In addition to ‘Asta’, Jung-gu is operating various programs to support youth career exploration. It provides opportunities for youth to explore career paths through various activities such as ‘Dream School’, a university department exploration program, ‘Dream.Ga.Ne’, a family career experience program reflecting local industries, and ‘Cheong.Jin.Ki Project’, a youth field job experience program.
Jung-gu District Mayor Kim Gil-seong said, “We will not spare any support necessary to help the youth of Jung-gu realize and concretize their dreams,” and “We will serve as a strong support for the youth as they design their future through various career exploration programs.”
The activities of ‘Asta’ are more meaningful in that they do not simply stop at career exploration, but also instill the value of sharing in young people through connections with the local community.
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