Is Local Governance of Community Support Program Collaborative? : Evaluating Governance Approaches in Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul

This paper investigates whether village-making projects led by local governments align with the objective of expanding community autonomy through collaborative governance. It examines the status and issues of Seoul's community support programs from the perspective of collaborative local governance, using the case of Dongdaemun District. To achieve this, the study first reviews the policy and institutional environment, then conducts in-depth interviews with community activists in the area, and surveys participants of the community support program. The research identified several chronic problems in the policy implementation approach of local governments, including a lack of consistency and continuity in policies, insufficient awareness and expertise among responsible officials, increased workload due to complex and cumbersome administrative and accounting procedures, and the persistence of traditional bureaucratic limitations within intermediary support organizations. While most previous studies have focused on analyzing the success factors of regions where community collectives are activated, this study is meaningful as it seeks to understand the circumstances and barriers in areas where village-making projects have been implemented for a certain period but are still considered not to be activated.