Gangbuk-gu Social Economy Support Center Opens

Old Abandoned Public Bath Transformed into a Space for Social Value Realization... Full of Old Charm with Bathhouse Chimney... Samyang-dong Facility Spanning Basement 1 to 4 Floors Above Ground... Includes Startup Incubation Room, Shared Workshop, and Tiered Lecture Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Kyum-soo) opened the doors of the district-run Social Economy Support Center on the 28th and began full-scale operations.

The Social Economy Support Center is a community space where the public and private sectors cooperate and unite to support social economy organizations. It serves as a hub that integrates social economy entities such as village enterprises and cooperatives in the area.

The center focuses on enabling social economy enterprises to become self-sustaining and achieve sustainable growth. This is realized through management consulting support, product market development, customized economic education, and programs to activate networks among social economy organizations. It also discovers region-specific projects aiming for the mutual growth effect of neighborhood economies and the social economy.

The building, located near Samyang Sageori Station on the Ui-Sinseol Urban Railway (Samyang-ro 47-gil 5), is a basement one to four-story structure (663.58㎡). The B1, 1st, and 2nd floors are arranged with tiered lecture halls, meeting rooms, and office spaces for tenants, while the 3rd and 4th floors house startup incubation rooms, shared workshops, and community rooms. A sky garden has been created on the rooftop. Social enterprises will settle in the tenant offices and other spaces.

In 2019, the district purchased an old abandoned bathhouse and began renovations. The chimney was preserved to retain the nostalgic atmosphere of the bathhouse. Construction was completed this month, and local tenant companies and prospective entrepreneurs in the fields of job creation, residential environment improvement, life safety, and youth were selected. Companies secure office space at low rent for two years, and prospective entrepreneurs develop business plans aimed at realizing social values in the startup incubation rooms.

The tenancy period can be extended once after a re-evaluation.

Park Kyum-soo, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “I hope the center will serve as a base so that the social economy can be fully integrated into the local ecosystem,” and added, “We will actively support social economy enterprises to grow and operate stably.”