[Seoul District News] Yangcheon Park Book Shelter Wins Grand Prize at 2021 Korea Public Architecture Awards and Excellence Award at Seoul Architecture Awards; Neomeondeul Park Book Shelter Receives Excellence Award at 2021 Korea Public Architecture Awards... 9 out of 10 Songpa Residents Satisfied with Songpa Dullegil... Gangdong Iljasan Herb Astronomy Park Opens Hanjinseop Sculpture Garden... Gwanak District Establishes AI-Equipped CCTV Intelligent Screening Control System... Seodaemun District Launches Customized Bidding Information Service for Small Businesses from October... Gwangjin District Supports Social Economy Enterprises with Crowdfunding... Seongdong District
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) has achieved the remarkable feat of winning three top domestic architectural awards with the Book Shelter built in the park.
The district announced that at the ‘2021 Korea Public Architecture Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Yangcheon Park Book Shelter won the Grand Prize, and the Neomeundeul Park Book Shelter won the Excellence Award respectively.
The Yangcheon Park Book Shelter had already won the Excellence Award at the 2021 Seoul Architecture Awards, achieving a triple crown including this.
Now in its 15th year, the Korea Public Architecture Awards is the most prestigious award in the public architecture category, given to institutions with outstanding achievements in creating dignified public architecture, excellent cooperation cases among institutions, targeting public institution-implemented buildings, spatial environments, and social infrastructure such as living SOC.
The ‘Yangcheon Park Book Shelter’, selected as the grand prize winner this time, received high praise for its design linking the book shelter with the park and playground, creating a resident community space encompassing communication and harmony, reading and storytelling, rest and healing.
Opened in October last year, the Yangcheon Park Book Shelter is a natural meeting and communication space centered on books, consisting of ▲reading space ▲nursing room ▲restroom ▲Zelkova tree rest area ▲persimmon tree rest area. It overcomes the limitations of existing urban parks with seasonal usage restrictions and presents a new paradigm of urban parks usable all year round, creating an integrated complex cultural space where distinctive activities and programs are implemented.
In particular, reflecting the ecological environment of Yangcheon Park and surrounding activities and atmosphere, it was planned to harmonize well with the park’s unique landscape by creating spaces that allow abundant light to permeate according to time and season, showcasing diverse views on the east, west, south, and north sides.
Moreover, Yangcheon-gu also created the ‘Neomeundeul Park Book Shelter’, which won the Excellence Award at the Korea Public Architecture Awards. By reorganizing the existing dark and old facilities under the theme of ‘Healthy Neighborhood Forest’ and harmonizing with the surrounding natural environment, the Neomeundeul Park Book Shelter was reborn as a charming space loved by residents.
Opened in April this year, the Neomeundeul Park Book Shelter gives the feeling of being in a small cabin in the forest with its pitched roof and wood siding walls visible from the park entrance. It is decorated with a cozy and nature-friendly atmosphere, providing a healing space for residents visiting the book shelter.
Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “I am very pleased and proud that the Yangcheon Park Book Shelter and Neomeundeul Park Book Shelter have achieved a triple crown by winning the Korea Public Architecture Awards and Seoul Architecture Awards,” adding, “We will continue to strive to create excellent and dignified public architecture to improve the quality of life of our residents.”
Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Sung-soo) revealed that 9 out of 10 Songpa residents are satisfied with ‘Songpa Dullegil’, a core project of the 7th local government administration.
The district announced the results of the ‘2021 First Half Songpa-gu Resident Opinion Survey’ on the 30th.
This survey was conducted to check satisfaction and achievements regarding core projects and district administration over the past three years of the 7th local government and to gather residents’ opinions on future district policies.
According to the main results, 8 out of 10 Songpa residents (76.9%) were ‘satisfied’ with the overall policies and projects promoted by Songpa-gu. In particular, among core projects, the awareness (97.1%) and satisfaction (97.4%) of ‘Songpa Dullegil’ were the highest.
Songpa Dullegil is a circular walking trail connecting four waterways flowing along the outskirts of Songpa-gu. It has received enthusiastic responses from residents through resident donations, creation of distinctive spaces, and the opening of the Tancheon Trail. Since the opening of the Tancheon Trail on July 1, the district is actively promoting the Songpa Dullegil Season 2 project. It plans to connect various local resources such as Pungnap Fortress Exploration Trail, Wirye Human Ring, and traditional markets with Songpa Dullegil to create a representative walking tourism course in Seoul.
Following Songpa Dullegil, ▲Small Business Support Project (70.3%) ▲Seokchon Lake Cultural Tourism Attraction (66.3%) showed high awareness. Satisfaction was also high at 84.6% and 95.0%, respectively.
Regarding district administration over the past three years, 76.8% responded that ‘results are being achieved’. The field with the most achievements was ‘Education and Childcare (20.4%)’. The district analyzed that efforts to create a child-friendly environment, such as the unique ‘Songpa SSEM’ education model and opening 103 public daycare centers, were recognized. Following this were ▲Green Space and Environment (19.1%) ▲Culture and Tourism (17.5%).
Performance evaluations in ‘Economy and Jobs’ and ‘Transportation’ were relatively low. The priority area for future promotion was also ‘Economy and Jobs’ (35.2%), emphasizing the need for regional economic revitalization and stable jobs.
Additionally, 87.1% of residents responded that the district is ‘responding well’ to COVID-19, showing high satisfaction. Positive evaluations were high for ‘specimen testing and epidemiological investigations for group infection prevention’ and ‘the nation’s first internet quarantine team’.
Regarding the increasing number of single-person households, priority policies included ▲Housing Stability Support (35.0%) ▲Safety Assurance such as Crime Prevention and Security (20.8%) ▲Basic Income Provision (15.3%). Accordingly, the district plans to develop tailored projects such as public service linkage for housing-vulnerable single-person households, customized real estate brokerage services for single-person households, and three types of care services for middle-aged residents.
Park Sung-soo, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “I am grateful that many residents use and are satisfied with Songpa Dullegil, created to improve residents’ quality of life,” adding, “We will actively reflect residents’ valuable opinions in the second half of the year and successfully complete promised projects to enhance Songpa’s value.”
This survey was conducted by KSOI (Korea Social Opinion Institute), a professional opinion research institute, targeting 1,500 residents aged 19 or older from July 13 to August 10. The margin of error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) opened the ‘Han Jin-seop Sculpture Garden’ within Iljasan Herb Astronomy Park, a representative attraction of the district, on the 29th.
The ‘Han Jin-seop Sculpture Garden’ consists of 11 works (25 pieces in total) installed throughout the park to harmonize with the existing 180 species of herbs and trees in the Herb Astronomy Park.
The sculptures installed are representative works by sculptor Han Jin-seop, featuring animals and families, such as ‘Happy’, ‘Rest’, all made of stone, allowing visitors to touch and experience them unlike artworks in museums.
The sculptures serve as seats where visitors can lean on and rest, touch, climb, and experience the artworks.
Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “We created the sculpture garden so that residents, whose opportunities to enjoy culture and arts have decreased due to COVID-19, can enjoy culture and arts in daily life,” adding, “As it was created under the motto ‘Art blended into daily life’, I hope it becomes a space where residents visiting the park can rest and heal with the sculptures.”
Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, participated in the ‘Love Donation Sharing Box’ delivery ceremony held at the district office entrance on the afternoon of the 30th and delivered goods (worth about 20 million KRW) collected so far to the Yangcheon-gu Food Bank and Market Center together with employees.
This campaign, which collects food and daily necessities from households and delivers them to neighbors in need, involved many residents through all Yangcheon-gu employees, community service centers, and public daycare centers, and was conducted over four weeks from September 6 to 29.
The donated items collected with warm hearts will be inspected and sorted at the Yangcheon-gu Food Bank and Market Center and carefully delivered to neighbors in need.
Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, visited the 5th youth autonomous cultural space ‘Daerim Play’ on the afternoon of the 30th to inspect the facility.
Youth autonomous cultural spaces are dedicated spaces for youth to autonomously and proactively create rest, play, communication, and socializing. Yeongdeungpo-gu has a total of five such spaces, including Daerim Play, Lalaland, Underland, Seonyu Attic, Mullae, and Nalda.
On this day, Mayor Chae visited Daerim Play, which is scheduled to open on October 1, toured the facility thoroughly, and checked the facility status and quarantine situation to ensure smooth operation.
Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, expressed hope that youth tired from studies can rest, enjoy, and share various experiences freely at the newly opened Daerim Play.
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is making every effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in traditional markets. This is a measure to ensure the safety of merchants and customers as group infections have recently spread in traditional markets.
The district has installed and operates temporary simple screening clinics within traditional markets to facilitate proactive testing for merchants. The clinics rotate among markets on different days to provide convenient and rapid testing for merchants.
The temporary simple screening clinics have been operating from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. starting September 29 at Gyeongdong Market. On September 29, 240 merchants and customers were tested at the Gyeongdong Market clinic, and on September 30, 270 people were tested at the clinic installed around Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market.
Testing will continue at Cheongnyangni General Market on October 1, Seoul Yakryeong Market on October 5, and Cheongnyangni General Wholesale Market on October 6.
Additionally, the district supports the ‘Visiting Screening Clinic’ operated by Seoul City. Due to group infections in traditional markets in Dongdaemun-gu, the first ‘Visiting Screening Clinic’ was installed and operated from September 5 to 15, where 35 out of 1,820 tested were confirmed positive. Due to ongoing group infections, a second ‘Visiting Screening Clinic’ will be installed from September 30 to October 13 at Daemyeong Private Parking Lot, operating from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Since traditional markets are used by unspecified many people, the district considers it important to track visitors and has supported the ‘Safe Call Entry Log System’ in traditional markets since September. Currently, it is implemented in 10 traditional markets with a total of 2,480 stores.
Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “We are doing our best to block COVID-19 infections by organizing autonomous quarantine teams for each market, supporting quarantine equipment and supplies for the safety of merchants and customers in our traditional markets. We will continue to provide necessary support without hesitation.”
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) was selected as an excellent district (Grade A) for two consecutive years in the ‘2021 Government Joint Evaluation’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The Government Joint Evaluation is a system where the Ministry of the Interior and Safety evaluates the performance of local governments in carrying out national delegated tasks, national subsidy projects, and major national policies over the past year in cooperation with central government ministries.
Based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s evaluation results for Seoul, Seoul City conducted performance evaluations of its 25 autonomous districts. Seongbuk-gu achieved targets for 29 out of 42 quantitative indicators and received high scores in preparation efforts (including qualitative indicators), leading to its selection as an excellent district.
The district showed strengths in various indicators such as ▲achievement rate of senior job targets ▲discovery and improvement of regulatory difficulties through behavioral improvements ▲discovery and handling rate of welfare blind spots ▲management rate of food poisoning occurrences ▲achievement rate of greenhouse gas reduction efforts, and will receive a financial incentive of 20 million KRW from Seoul City.
Especially, projects such as issuing local gift certificates and supporting online delivery services for traditional markets to reduce damage to small business owners due to COVID-19 were selected as excellent COVID-19 response cases that revitalize the local economy.
Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “We received good evaluations as a result of actively promoting tasks related to residents’ lives,” adding, “Although it is a difficult time due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to strive so that administrative achievements help return to a richer daily life.”
Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will operate a free bicycle steam cleaning service for residents starting October 5.
Bicycles, an eco-friendly transportation mode, have recently gained more attention as a non-face-to-face personal mobility option amid the COVID-19 situation. The district is promoting this project to activate bicycle use culture and enhance residents’ convenience.
The steam cleaning service operates from Tuesday to Sunday every week. It is available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (excluding lunch break from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) at the bicycle rental stations in Junggye-dong Children’s Traffic Park and Exit 4 of Sanggye Station.
Any Nowon-gu resident can use the service free of charge without a reservation. The service can clean general bicycles, mountain bikes, and children’s bicycles. However, electric bicycles and kickboards, which may be at risk of malfunction, are excluded.
Using high-temperature water and steam, the service sterilizes and removes dust and various contaminants on bicycles, preventing aging. To prevent accidents such as burns, trained personnel who received proper cleaning and safety education are stationed at the locations.
The service is environmentally friendly as it does not use detergents. Palm mats and waterproof sheets are laid at the cleaning sites, and dedicated iron plates and wastewater collectors are installed to prevent wastewater from seeping into the ground. Wastewater is collected separately and treated to minimize environmental pollution.
The steam cleaning service will be piloted at two locations until November 30, and depending on residents’ response, additional cleaning machines will be installed and operated near bicycle roads and high-demand areas.
Nowon-gu is implementing various projects to create a bicycle-friendly environment. Since 2015, all residents have been enrolled in bicycle insurance, and until last year, insurance payments totaling 1.3216 billion KRW were paid to 1,965 residents who had bicycle accidents, helping residents ride bicycles with peace of mind.
Additionally, the district operates a ‘Bicycle Watchdog Team’ that inspects bicycle-related facilities and reports inconveniences. Once social distancing eases, an intermediate-level bicycle class will be added to the existing free bicycle classes to provide level-based education.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Bicycles are an eco-friendly transportation mode that reduces carbon emissions and a leisure means that protects residents’ health,” adding, “We will continue to maintain related facilities and promote various projects so that residents can use bicycles safely and comfortably.”
Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will operate the ‘Seodaemun-gu Customized Bidding Information Service’ website from October 1 to support local businesses and small merchants in expanding sales channels.
The site provides real-time bidding and contract information related to construction, services, and goods procurement from nationwide ordering agencies such as the Public Procurement Service’s Nara Market, Ministry of National Defense, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, K-water, Korea Gas Corporation, Korea Railroad Corporation, and the U.S. Forces Korea.
Users can select and view customized information by period, industry, and region. They can also set mailing for keywords of interest to not miss necessary information.
Businesses and small merchants with business locations registered in Seodaemun-gu can sign up on the site and use it free of charge. Professional consultations on membership registration, bidding procedures, and methods are also available through the customer center.
The district plans to provide free bidding practical training for subscribing companies.
Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “We expect the Seodaemun-gu Customized Bidding Information Service to contribute to sales channel development, sales increase, and cost reduction for businesses and small merchants.”
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) plans to integrate an ‘Intelligent Selective Monitoring System’ using artificial intelligence (AI) analysis technology into 600 CCTV cameras at the CCTV Smart Integrated Control Center by the end of this year.
The intelligent selective monitoring system uses AI to recognize and analyze objects, automatically displaying incidents such as loitering, intrusion, falling, and illegal dumping at the control center, enabling immediate identification and response to emergencies that monitoring personnel may miss.
It can synergize with the ‘Smart City Integrated Platform’, which connects the CCTV integrated control center with public safety sectors (fire stations, police stations, etc.) in real time. Selected CCTV video information can be directly linked to 112 and 119 emergency services, enabling golden time for emergency dispatch support, social vulnerable support, and disaster emergency response.
Currently, the district operates 4,942 CCTVs linked to the control center in 1,503 crime-vulnerable locations such as school surroundings, alleys, and parks, with 16 monitoring personnel working in four shifts 24/7 to protect residents’ safety.
However, as CCTV numbers continue to increase due to demand for crime prevention and disaster prevention, limited monitoring personnel face difficulties in efficient monitoring.
Using the selective monitoring system, one person can monitor up to 600 cameras, drastically reducing the number of CCTV videos that monitoring personnel must watch simultaneously, solving the shortage of monitoring staff.
Also, since only event videos are selected for viewing, it enables a rapid and focused monitoring system, improving monitoring efficiency.
A district official said, “By applying AI technology, a core of the 4th Industrial Revolution, to CCTV, Gwanak-gu will take a step closer to creating a safe city without crime,” adding, “We will continue to expand and build AI-equipped CCTV to create a ‘Smart Safe City Gwanak’ that residents can feel.”
Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Roh Hyun-song) has taken the lead in providing hygienic and safe food to residents.
The district announced that it will disclose the kitchen hygiene status of delivery food restaurants, whose demand has greatly increased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, on its website. This is intended to alleviate residents’ concerns about food safety through proactive hygiene management of delivery food.
With the trend of non-face-to-face lifestyles due to COVID-19, delivery orders have surged compared to dining in stores, but most delivery food restaurants’ hygiene status has not been exposed externally.
Moreover, as food poisoning cases have recently occurred in restaurants such as gimbap shops, residents’ interest in restaurant hygiene has increased.
Accordingly, the district decided to disclose kitchen hygiene status on the website with the consent of delivery food restaurant owners. The target restaurants for kitchen disclosure are delivery-only restaurants without seats and those with only one or two tables.
Participating restaurants will be posted on the district website and newsletters for promotional effects. They will also receive hygiene supplies such as hygiene masks and hand sanitizers.
Restaurants wishing to participate must submit an application form to the Gangseo-gu Health Center Hygiene Management Division by email or fax by November 5.
Details can be found on the ‘Gangseo-gu Office Website - News Plaza - Notices/News’, where the application form can also be downloaded. The district will conduct on-site hygiene inspections and photograph and video kitchen facilities and hoods for posting on the website. Photos of delivery-only restaurant kitchens can be viewed at ‘Gangseo-gu Office Website - Information by Field - Delivery Food Restaurant Kitchen Disclosure’.
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Sun-gap) has taken the lead in expanding online sales channels for local social economy enterprises.
Accordingly, from October, the district will pre-sell social economy enterprise products on the domestic excellent crowdfunding platform Tumblbug.
Crowdfunding is a method where demanders in need of funds collect money from an unspecified large number of people through online platforms.
This funding was prepared to diversify sales channel support and enhance marketability for social economy enterprises struggling due to COVID-19, hosted by Gwangjin-gu and conducted by Updream Korea.
In August, the district selected two Gwangjin social economy enterprises and three excellent social ventures to participate in crowdfunding and will support company meetings, product photography, and marketing consulting for each company until early October to open funding.
This funding will sell ▲home meal kits (for single-person households, vegan, DIY, etc.) ▲gardening kits and educational programs ▲compression stockings for nurses ▲seamless knit cardigans from a seamless company ▲sugar clay ‘Making Endangered Animals’ kits.
Crowdfunding consists of early bird products available at low prices and set products with discounts for multiple purchases, increasing consumer satisfaction. Payment is made only if the target amount (quantity) is reached, and if funding fails, consumers are fully refunded.
Earlier in September, 15 social economy enterprises in Gwangjin-gu were selected to participate in the ‘Online Market Entry Support Project’, and online product brochures were produced.
Among them, after screening, one company received support for gift package production and sales using the Gwangjin social economy joint brand ‘Senaru’, and three companies received support for detailed page production and product photography to build Naver Smart Store.
Additionally, a ‘Senaru Market’ page is being built to guide online purchase information for Gwangjin social economy enterprises.
Kim Sun-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We aim to revitalize non-face-to-face market entry through innovative methods such as crowdfunding in the social economy market, which has shrunk due to COVID-19,” adding, “If social economy enterprises produce excellent quality products and services, the district will support more residents to meet social economy products and engage in value consumption.”
Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) produced and supplied 177,000 pictogram and QR code-designed volume-based waste bags on a trial basis this month.
Pictogram, a compound of ‘picto’ meaning picture and ‘telegram’ meaning message, is displayed on the surface of volume-based waste bags so that anyone can understand the meaning and know which wastes should not be put in the bags.
On the 20L household volume-based waste bags, which have the highest sales, six items that should not be put in, such as clean vinyl, food waste, batteries, and ceramic dishes, are visualized, and a separate QR code is added to provide information on how to dispose of each item and waste disposal guidelines.
Scanning the QR code with a smartphone camera links to the district website, where detailed information on distinguishing recyclable and non-recyclable items is available.
In June, the district established a basic plan for creating a resource circulation city in response to worsening environmental issues, setting up an all-around system to reduce household waste by 50% and actively preparing measures to reduce household waste by 7% annually.
To promote actual waste reduction, the district induces residents’ sympathy and participation and implements three policy directions: waste generation suppression, increasing recycling rates, and operates ‘Seongdong Purumi Recycling Stations’ and ‘Age-specific Customized Environmental Education’. It plans to actively promote practical ways to reduce waste and increase recycling in daily life, including zero waste practices.
A resident in Geumho-dong, Mr. Nam (in his 40s), who uses the volume-based waste bags, said, “When disposing of waste in volume-based bags, I sometimes wonder if the item is recyclable, but I can immediately check by looking at the pictograms,” adding, “It makes me double-check whether it can be recycled before throwing it away.”
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We prepared easy-to-practice measures in daily life to reduce waste and increase recycling rates,” adding, “We will continue to focus our capabilities on reducing household waste and actively promote practical methods in daily life.”
Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) signed a business agreement on the 29th with the Korean Diabetes Association and Sanofi-Aventis Korea Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Sanofi) to provide the ‘Dangdang Care App’ service for diabetes patients in vulnerable groups in the region.
The ‘Dangdang Care App’ is an app developed and launched by the Korean Diabetes Association and Sanofi that integrates diabetes management and psychological self-care for diabetics.
Eunpyeong-gu is conducting the first domestic pilot project of the ‘Dangdang Care App’ service together with the partner organizations. After the pilot period, the app is scheduled to be officially distributed nationwide early next year.
The name ‘Dangdang Care’ was selected through a naming contest hosted by the Korean Diabetes Association, meaning ‘Let’s manage diabetes confidently’ and ‘Consistently managing diabetes through psychological care content’.
Through this agreement, Eunpyeong-gu will support participant selection and recruitment for app use. The Korean Diabetes Association and Sanofi will actively cooperate in app development and smooth project operation.
Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, “Psychological stability is important for blood sugar management in diabetes. Amid concerns about worsening health of diabetics due to increased depression and anxiety from prolonged COVID-19, I thank the partners for conducting the first domestic pilot project of the ‘Dangdang Care’ app service with Eunpyeong-gu,” adding, “We will do our best to actively cooperate and support so that Eunpyeong-gu can lead in healing diabetes patients.”
Yongsan-gu (Mayor Sung Chang-hyun) will hold an online book festival titled ‘Book Beat and Healing’ from October 1 to 2.
Main programs include ▲Picture Book Musical ‘Princess Pyeonggang and Ondal the Fool’ ▲One-person Picture Book Play ‘Nyang-i’s Strange Day’ ▲Picture Book Author Lecture ‘Believe it or Not, Elvis’s Costume Shop’ ▲Challenge! Reading Golden Bell ▲Reading Guidance Special Lecture ‘Awakening Our Child’s Reading Comprehension’.
‘Princess Pyeonggang and Ondal the Fool’ won the 23rd Seoul Children’s Theater Awards for Best Work, Most Popular, Music, and Acting. It is a ‘object play’ using everyday items like brushes, brooms, tissues, and kettles, crossing the boundaries of play, art, and history. The screening time is 49 minutes. A private YouTube link will be sent via text only to pre-registered participants.
‘Nyang-i’s Strange Day’ is a picture book by author Nanju. Through the special experience of the grumpy cat Nyang-i, children learn how to make friends and the importance of harmony. The one-person play by the author will be shown on the district office YouTube at 12:30 p.m. on the 1st, and pre-registered participants received a forest maze-making experience kit.
Author Choi Hyang-rang will give a non-face-to-face lecture from 1:30 p.m. on the same day. This book is the author’s first picture book for adult readers, using unique techniques such as collage and silk screen. Pre-registered participants received a seed doll-making experience kit.
The Reading Golden Bell will be held on the 2nd from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Dream Tree Complex Town (329 Baekbeom-ro). The target participants are 30 third-grade elementary students, and the required books are five, including ‘Alien Who Went to the Library’. Participants must prepare a smartphone capable of connecting to the video conferencing program (Zoom). Book gift certificates worth 10,000 to 30,000 KRW will be awarded according to ranking.
A special lecture for parents will also be held. Jeong Eun-joo, Director of the Hanuri Reading Culture Movement Lifelong Education Center, will lecture for two hours on core competencies needed in the 4th Industrial Revolution era and tips for improving children’s reading comprehension. It will be available for anyone to watch on the district office YouTube at 4 p.m. on the 2nd.
Additionally, the district will operate ▲Storytelling with Zoom ▲Picture Book Musical ‘Matsu and the Magical Stone’ ▲English Picture Book World Tour ▲Meetings with authors Park Geun-ho and Park Kyung-hee (Talk Concert) during the festival. Some programs allow small-scale on-site participation. Details can be found on the ‘2021 Yongsan Book Festival’ official website or the Yongsan District Integrated Library website under notices.
Sung Chang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we will hold the book festival online,” adding, “I hope residents overcome COVID blues through reading and find vitality in life.”
Since establishing the Reading Promotion Team in 2015, the district has made various efforts to spread reading culture, including opening the Dream Tree Library, expanding public small libraries, building integrated library networks, book sharing campaigns, Bookstart play, and One Library One Book reading campaigns.
Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) is recruiting participants for each program of the online ‘Guro Youth Festival’.
A Guro-gu official said on the 30th, “To prevent COVID-19, the ‘Guro Youth Festival’ will be held online again this year following last year.”
The festival runs from October 30 to November 20. Youth create 3D characters and participate on an online platform. Under the theme ‘Climate is a Right’, youth plan and operate various programs themselves.
Online programs require prior registration before the festival. First, participants for the ‘Climate is a Right’ video contest are recruited until October 14. Videos within 3 minutes on climate crisis response actions and campaigns to save the Earth can be submitted. Children, youth, and residents living or studying in Guro-gu can participate individually or as teams.
The ‘Climate is a Right’ drawing contest accepts submissions until the 20th of next month. Drawings, posters, comics, etc., on climate crisis response and saving the Earth are accepted. Youth aged 10 to 19 living or studying in Guro-gu can apply.
Participants for the ‘14-Day Challenge to Save the Earth’ are accepted until the 21st. Participants perform various missions to save themselves and the Earth and share challenge certification photos on SNS. Anyone living or studying in Guro-gu, including children, youth, and residents, can participate.
The ‘Youth Media Artist Contest’, selecting works with youth sensibility, accepts applications from October 19 to 29. Youth aged 14 to 18 living or studying in the district can apply.
The ‘League of Legends (LOL) E-Sports Team Competition’ accepts applications until October 7. Youth aged 14 to 24 living or studying in the district can apply as teams.
‘PET Name ZONE (Pets)’ accepts applications until October 7. Participants create acrostic poems using their pet’s name. Youth aged 13 to 24 living or studying in Guro-gu can apply.
The ‘Guro Youth Theater Festival’ IN Dream Concert performance teams are recruited until October 4. Youth aged 13 to 19 living or studying in Guro-gu who can perform dance, rap, hip-hop, vocals, dance, etc., individually or as groups can apply.
Details such as application links and contact information can be found on the Guro-gu Office website.
Jongno-gu (Mayor Kim Young-jong) is promoting the daily health practice project ‘Walking Around the Earth’ until November 30 to contribute to residents’ health improvement.
With goals of ‘walking practice’ and ‘reducing carbon emissions’, the district is conducting ▲the ‘Sneaker Day’ campaign on the 11th of every month ▲walking 50,000 steps per week and 200,000 steps per month ▲carbon-neutral lifestyle walking challenge.
In the first half of the year, about 1,750 residents participated, achieving a total of approximately 300 million steps, receiving great response.
As part of the Earth Round project, a health-sharing donation challenge was held, delivering goods to neighbors in need in cooperation with sponsors.
This second half, the walking challenge focuses on climate change response. Those wishing to participate can install the mobile app ‘WalkOn’ and join the official Jongno-gu community ‘Healthy City Jongno and Walking Around the Earth’.
Participants who achieve goals will be given small prizes by lottery. For details, contact the Jongno-gu Health City Division.
Kim Young-jong, Mayor of Jongno-gu, said, “‘Walking Around the Earth’ encourages walking exercise, improving personal health, helping neighbors in need, and reducing carbon emissions, making it a meaningful project,” adding, “We will continue to prioritize residents’ health and happiness and promote substantial health city policies.”
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Sun-gap) supports ‘Smart Fine Dust Alarms’ for safe childcare environments in daycare centers.
Due to the need for indoor air quality management caused by harmful substances such as yellow dust and fine dust, the district supports the installation of smart fine dust alarms in all 163 daycare centers in the district.
The ‘Smart Fine Dust Alarm’ measures indoor air quality frequently and quantifies pollution levels, allowing monitoring via PC and mobile. Based on air quality alerts, appropriate responses such as ventilation are possible.
Daycare centers can ventilate immediately when carbon dioxide levels are high and operate air purifiers and clean indoors when fine dust or ultrafine dust levels are high, creating a timely, comfortable, and safe childcare environment.
Kim Sun-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “Due to prolonged COVID-19, young children spend much time indoors, so we are reviewing various ways to create a safe and comfortable indoor air environment in daycare centers,” adding, “We will do our best to protect young children’s health and ensure safe daycare use by installing smart fine dust alarms.”
Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) will temporarily collect food waste free of charge from small restaurants struggling due to prolonged COVID-19.
The support targets small restaurants with business areas under 200㎡, including general and rest restaurants in Dobong-gu, from October 1 to December 31, 2021.
Eligible small restaurants can dispose of food waste without attaching payment confirmation stickers until the end of the year. However, food waste disposal is only allowed from Sunday to Friday between 6 p.m. and midnight. Food waste from large-scale businesses or outside the disposal period will not be collected.
Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “We are providing temporary free collection to help small businesses that have suffered significant sales declines due to COVID-19. We hope this support helps small business owners overcome difficulties and aids their operations.”
Dobong-gu also supports free cleaning of volume-based waste devices (RFID) twice a month until the end of the year for small multi-family housing without managers, reducing residents’ environmental management burdens and creating pleasant alleys during the COVID-19 period.
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) is conducting a ‘Clean City Geumcheon Brand Slogan Contest’ until October 12.
This contest was planned to promote the cleaner street environment resulting from the new daily waste collection system implemented this year and to encourage residents to think together about waste issues.
Under the theme ‘Clean City Geumcheon’, any Geumcheon-gu resident can participate. The slogan should be a short and concise phrase within 20 characters, allowing a mix of Korean, English, and symbols. Winning slogans will be used in cleaning-related events or official documents, publications, and posters issued by Geumcheon-gu.
Applications can be submitted by downloading the application form from the ‘Geumcheon News’ section on the Geumcheon-gu website by October 12, then submitting it via email (jimmy2011@geumcheon.go.kr), mail, or visiting the 11th floor Cleaning Administration Division of Geumcheon-gu Office.
Geumcheon-gu will select four winners (one grand prize, three excellence awards) through a preference survey and a resident participation jury committee, announce them on the district website in early November, and notify winners individually.
The grand prize winner will receive a certificate and a 300,000 KRW local gift certificate, and the three excellence award winners will receive certificates and 100,000 KRW local gift certificates.
Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “This contest was prepared to create a clean city Geumcheon with residents,” adding, “We ask residents for active interest and participation to produce many creative slogans.”
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