Chungcheongnam-do is pushing ahead with a new paradigm for expanding international exchanges. Chungcheongnam-do harvested a great result with exchanges by choice and concentration, including signing up for a friendly cooperation with five organizations from three nations and starting new exchanges with four regions of two nations according to the comprehensive assessment of the reality of international exchanges in the fifth election period by popular vote.
 
To enumerate in detail, there were mutual exchanges of 1,556 people in 181 exchanges for China. For Japan, 1,204 people during 70 exchanges were conducted. Other than that, exchanges of 15 organizations from 11 nations and 381 people of50 total exchanges were achieved.
 
In consideration of the entire record of exchanges for 31 years with Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, which set up a sisterhood relationship with the Chungnamprovince on January 22, 1983, had a total of 17,140 people exchanged in the total 1,290 exchanges.Itis evident that the fifth election period by popular vote has been the most vigorous period for international exchanges with 321 exchanges and 3,141 people during this time with six months left to the finish of the fifth election period.
 
Chungcheongnam-do, on the basis of this result, is seeking to change to the paradigm of international exchanges that is more future-oriented. Specifically, the leadership for international exchanges is moving from the government of the development era to private organizations that hold the key to specialization and to the advancement era, andthe province is switching its role to that of support and management.

To achieve this, the overall system has improved with the international exchange of youth moving away from the existing method of recruiting youths under the leadership of government offices and going towards letting the Chungcheongnam-do Youth Development Agency, which has specialty related to youth exchange, take center stage and switch the scope of participants to children of families without parents, children of low-income families, and youths with disabilities to give those groups  theopportunity of experiencing the broader world.