[Photo] Gwangjin District Council's 'Gwangjin Innovation Forum' Benchmarks Solutions to Eliminate Blind Spots in Elementary Care

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Gwangjin District Council (Chairperson Park Sam-rye) research group ‘Gwangjin Innovation Forum,’ which launched with an inauguration ceremony on the 15th of last month, is continuously conducting research activities day after day by visiting sites and listening to opinions to solve various urban life issues directly related to the lives of district residents.

Starting with a field visit on November 6th to benchmark cultural complex facilities (Nodeul Island, Yongsan-gu) and resource circulation (Seoul Reuse Plaza, Seongdong-gu), they continued with meetings on the 16th with local children’s centers and Our Neighborhood Care Centers, which play a central role in child care within the community.

During the process of gathering diverse opinions and conducting field visits to address local issues, the research group empathized with the seriousness of the elementary school care gap that has emerged due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. To systematize elementary care, which had been a blind spot in public care, they visited the first Seoul base-type Our Neighborhood Care Center in Nowon-gu on the 20th.

To establish a dense community-centered care system, the district opened the 1st center (4th floor of Jayang Comprehensive Social Welfare Center / opened in September 2019), the 2nd center (2nd and 3rd floors of Jayang 2 Police Substation / opened in May 2020), and the 3rd center (Jayang 1-dong Heenyeon House / opened in November 2020), and plans to open the 4th to 7th centers in December. By 2021, the district plans to install Care Centers in all 15 neighborhoods, building a seamless care service network.

The Gwangjin Innovation Forum members who joined the field visit examined the programs and facility status of the Nowon-gu Care Center, listened to operational difficulties, and discussed various measures to revitalize elementary care.

In particular, to strengthen the operation of general-type Care Centers responsible for elementary care in each neighborhood and base-type Care Centers that will serve as control towers for care resources within the area, they proposed various ideas such as program selection methods and setting operational directions, seeking ways to coexist through networking with the community, promotional marketing targeting actual users, and establishing a base Care Center within Gwangjin-gu Children’s Grand Park.

Chairperson Park Sam-rye, who joined the field visit along with representative member Jang Kyung-hee and other affiliated members of the Gwangjin Innovation Forum, stated, “While social demand for care continues to increase, the poor conditions of elementary care compared to infant care support is a challenge that our society must jointly address. The council will also participate through policy proposals and ordinance enactments based on various research activities.”