Jongno-gu Office Civil Service Room's 'Literature Vending Machine' Dispenses Poems and Quotes?

Jongno-gu to Operate 'Literature Vending Machine' from March 3... Helping Residents Visiting Civil Service Office Use Waiting Time Usefully and Contributing to Reading Culture Improvement... Press Button to Receive Excerpts from Poems, Quotes, Novels, Essays on Receipt Paper

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The district office civil service center, where residents visit to obtain various certificates and documents. Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) has installed a ‘Literature Vending Machine’ and began operating it from March 3rd to help visitors make productive use of their waiting time.

The literature vending machine, installed next to the civil service center’s ticket dispenser, prints short or long texts in the form of receipt-like paper when one of its two buttons is pressed.

The district plans to provide content selected monthly from copyrighted poems, quotes, novels, and essays to enhance the quality of civil services and contribute to the promotion of reading culture.

In addition to various literary materials, the machine will also introduce useful district projects such as ‘Lifelong Learning Center Programs’ and ‘Property Tax and Vehicle Tax Notices,’ as well as representative events like the ‘Jongno Hanbok Festival’ and the ‘Yuk-ui-jeon Festival’ at the bottom of the printouts to fulfill residents’ right to know.

Jongno-gu operates a ‘Night Civil Service Center’ for residents who find it difficult to visit during regular weekday hours. It is open every Tuesday from 6 PM to 8 PM, providing services such as passport application and issuance, and issuance of various civil documents.

Furthermore, to offer specialized civil services in areas like construction and real estate, the district runs a ‘Complex Civil Service Specialist Counselor’ system. It aims for one-stop consultations in a single visit to minimize the need for follow-up visits, with two expert counselors providing one-on-one guidance and consultation on over 20 types of civil service tasks including permits and approvals.

For vulnerable groups, a ‘Priority Window for Socially Considerate Persons’ is available to issue integrated civil documents without waiting. Additionally, a ‘Foreigners-Only Window (Orange Zone)’ staffed by multilingual employees has been established to assist foreigners who are not fluent in Korean.

Kim Young-jong, Mayor of Jongno-gu, stated, “We plan to analyze user data and reflect it in updating the literary content. We hope to help busy modern people cultivate their humanities sensibility in daily life and make productive use of the waiting time while obtaining civil certificates.”