National Assembly Future Institute's Report on 'Study of Korean Happiness' Reveals Annual Weight Control Attempt Rate, Walking Practice Rate, and Healthy Lifestyle Practice Rate Stand Out... Notable Decrease in 'Depression Experience Rate'
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced on the 24th that it received an ‘A grade,’ placing it in the top 20% among 228 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, according to the comprehensive analysis results of the Happiness Capacity Index.
This is based on the first half of this year’s report from the National Assembly Future Institute’s ‘Study on the Happiness of Koreans,’ which attempted to conceptualize and index happiness, providing data on the distribution of happiness by city, county, and district.
The Happiness Capacity Index was measured across eight areas: health, safety, environment, economy, education, relationships and social participation, leisure, and life satisfaction. Among these, Seodaemun-gu was included in the top five nationwide in the ‘health’ category.
The evaluation indicators for the health category were based on results from the ‘Statistics Korea Community Health Survey’ and included ▲subjective health level recognition rate ▲number of hospital beds per 1,000 population ▲number of doctors working in medical institutions per 1,000 population ▲health behavior practice rates such as smoking cessation, moderate drinking, and walking ▲number of mental health promotion institutions per 100,000 population.
According to this, in 2018, Seodaemun-gu ranked ▲1st nationwide in annual weight control attempt rate (74.5%) ▲2nd in walking practice rate (80.9%) ▲3rd in health behavior practice rate (58.0%) among all cities, counties, and districts.
In terms of changes over five years, the ‘walking practice rate’ increased by 27.0 percentage points, ranking 7th nationwide, and the ‘health behavior practice rate’ increased by 21.5 percentage points, ranking 4th nationwide.
This is analyzed to be due to the district’s continuous efforts to create a pedestrian-friendly urban environment along with various resident health promotion projects such as individual weight management, family obesity management, smoking cessation clinics, moderate drinking education, and health classes, as well as the development of accessible trails at Ansan and Bukhansan, walking and bicycle paths along Hongjecheon and Bulgwangcheon streams, and the car-free street at Sinchon Yonsei-ro.
Additionally, the ‘depression experience rate’ among Seodaemun-gu residents decreased by 10.1 percentage points compared to 10 years ago, ranking 5th in reduction among all cities, counties, and districts nationwide, which is attributed to various mental health promotion projects implemented across life cycles.
In fact, Seodaemun-gu Public Health Center signed a business agreement with the Department of Psychiatry at Yonsei University Severance Hospital to establish a smooth crisis response system for mental illness patients.
Also, through the operation of the ‘Seodaemun-gu Mental Health Welfare Center,’ the district focuses on managing mental illness patients intensively and supports rehabilitation and reintegration after discharge, strengthening the mental health safety net.
Recently, mental health promotion projects have been conducted for residents suffering from mental distress due to the novel coronavirus infection, providing depression psychological counseling to 249 people so far, and linking 99 of them to psychiatric treatment.
For reference, mental health promotion facilities in Seodaemun-gu include one public health center, ten mental medical institutions, one mental health welfare center, and seven mental rehabilitation facilities.
Furthermore, Seodaemun-gu has 438 medical institutions, 3,284 hospital beds, and a total of 1,934 doctors (including dentists and oriental medicine doctors). The presence of Yonsei University Severance Hospital within the district is analyzed to have positively influenced the evaluation of medical infrastructure and accessibility by local governments.
Mayor Moon Seok-jin stated, “Following Seodaemun-gu’s ranking 2nd nationwide in the ‘Happiness Evaluation’ of basic local governments by Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration in 2014, we have received favorable evaluations in the National Assembly Future Institute’s ‘Study on the Happiness of Koreans’ as well. We will continue to strive to realize ‘Happy City Seodaemun.’”
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