Why Did Jung Won-oh, Seongdong-gu Mayor, and Over 160 Staff Members Watch the Movie 'Wangsimni Kim Jong-bun' Together?

[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Staff Watch 'Wangsimni Kim Jongbun' Depicting Real Residents' Lives to Enhance Kindness Mindset for Communication and Empathy with Residents... Jung Won-oh, Seongdong-gu Mayor, "Hope We Continue to Approach Residents' Lives First"... Songpa Book Museum Hosts 'The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly' Author Hwang Sun-mi Lecture on the 25th 'From Daily Life to Stories'... Seocho-gu Wins Triple Crowns at Europe's Top Environmental Award 'Green Apple Awards'... Gwanak-gu Sets 2022 Budget at 905.6 Billion Won for 'Economic Recovery and Resident Happiness Improvement'

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu (far right), presented congratulatory flower bouquets to Kim Jong-bun and other local residents who appeared in the film on the 19th to celebrate its release.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Employees of Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) collectively watched the documentary film 'Wangsimni Kim Jong-bun,' which depicts the diary of Seongdong resident Kim Jong-bun, on the 19th to deeply understand the lives of residents and to implement kind administrative services.

Previously, as residents' demands for administration became increasingly complex and diverse, Seongdong-gu has made the realization of a kind district government one of its main goals from the 6th to the 7th elected terms, leading various policy implementations to enhance employees' kindness and increase residents' satisfaction with administration.

As a result, Seongdong-gu achieved the remarkable feat of being selected as the best institution nationwide in the comprehensive civil service evaluation for four consecutive years this year, and in October, it was honored with the grand prize at the 13th Dasan Mokmin Awards hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which is awarded annually to only three local governments.

This group viewing was also held on the 19th as part of the 'Kindness Mind Improvement Education Program' for employees. On that day, about 160 employees watched the film while adhering to quarantine rules and had a communication session with residents including Kim Jong-bun, who appeared in the actual film.

An employee from the Planning and Budget Division who watched the film said, "I had seen my mother working a few times before, but through 'Wangsimni Kim Jong-bun,' I feel I can understand her a little better." He added, "Despite personal sorrow, I felt the power of positivity in being able to look at the world with a broader perspective," and shared, "I was reminded once again of the principle that we must strive to understand each resident's life and work kindly from the residents' point of view."

'Wangsimni Kim Jong-bun' is a documentary film centered on Kim Jong-bun, an octogenarian who is a fixture of Wangsimni and the mother of the late student activist Kim Gwi-jung, who died during the democratization movement in May 1991. It portrays the nearby merchants with whom she has shared affection for decades and their daily lives.

The film first premiered to audiences by entering the documentary competition at the 26th Busan International Film Festival and was officially released on the 11th. It calmly depicts Kim's life guarding a corner of Wangsimni Station Exit 11 for over 30 years and the pains of modern history surrounding her, along with voices from surrounding figures and family members, receiving favorable reviews.

Mayor Jung Won-oh also attended the group viewing and presented congratulatory flower bouquets to Kim Jong-bun and other residents who appeared in the film to commemorate its release.

Mayor Jung Won-oh said, "'Wangsimni Kim Jong-bun' is a film that depicts the daily lives and lives of our Seongdong-gu residents, not anyone else's story," and added, "I hope we continue to approach residents' lives one step closer with a sincere heart and carry out administration accordingly."

Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) will hold a book culture lecture by inviting author Hwang Sun-mi at 10:30 a.m. on the 25th at the Songpa Book Museum (77, Songpa-daero 37-gil).

Opened in 2019, the Songpa Book Museum is Korea's first public book museum established with the theme of books. It plans various unique exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs to offer the joy of reading books and is loved by many residents.

In line with the recent phased recovery of daily life, the Songpa Book Museum has resumed the 'Book Culture Lecture,' which had been suspended due to COVID-19. The 'Book Culture Lecture' is an event where authors, publishing planners, and other notable figures meet readers directly.

This time, the lecturer is Hwang Sun-mi, a representative children's literature author in Korea.

Author Hwang has been actively producing works such as 'Bad Child Ticket,' 'The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly,' 'Morning When the Magpie Cries,' 'My Blue Bicycle,' 'Summer Tree,' 'The Yellow House of the Primrose,' 'The Sam Village Mischief,' 'The Necklace Key,' and 'Troubles in the Backyard.' She has received awards including the Presidential Citation at the Korea Culture and Arts Awards and the Sejong Children's Literature Award for her profound themes, delicate psychological descriptions, and sentences that touch readers' hearts.

In particular, Hwang's representative work 'The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly' is the first million-seller original Korean fairy tale. It has been translated and published in dozens of countries overseas, including the U.S. Penguin Publishing, and received the 'Beautiful Book of the Year' award in Poland, gaining recognition abroad.

In this lecture, Hwang Sun-mi will meet the audience under the theme 'From Everyday Life to Stories.' Attendees will learn about the author's perspective on the world and how small discoveries in daily life develop into stories that everyone can relate to. It is expected to be a time to understand the author's writing process and literary world.

The lecture will be held free of charge from 10:30 a.m. on the 25th at the 1st-floor Eoullim Hall of the Songpa Book Museum. Participation applications can be made through the Songpa Book Museum website or the Songpa Saem Education Portal. The lecture will also be live-streamed on the Songpa TV YouTube channel.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, "The Songpa Book Museum is an open space where anyone can share knowledge and thoughts about books and reading. I am glad to reopen the 'Book Culture Lecture' after a long time," and added, "We will continue to provide richer and more diverse content so that everyone can enjoy the pleasure of books at the Songpa Book Museum."

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is accelerating the realization of 'Reading Yeongdeungpo' by newly opening a smart library inside Yangpyeong Station on Subway Line 5.

The smart library is an unmanned book lending and return system in the form of a vending machine, allowing users to conveniently borrow books nearby during their commute or outings without visiting a library in person.

The district aimed to create an environment where local residents can easily access books in daily life by additionally installing smart libraries at subway stations with good accessibility and to establish a non-face-to-face library usage system suitable for the post-COVID-19 era.

To this end, since the first half of this year, the district visited seven subway stations in the area, consulted with related organizations, selected appropriate sites for installation, and considered various factors such as book lending and return statistics and user demand to finalize the target locations.

The newly installed smart library can be easily found inside Yangpyeong Station on Line 5. It is stocked with popular books, recommended books, and books selected by the district. The district plans to continuously acquire new and diverse collections to increase user satisfaction.

The smart library is available to all members of the Yeongdeungpo-gu public library, allowing up to four books per person to be borrowed for three weeks (21 days). Operating hours match those of Yangpyeong Station.

The usage method is simple. Users select desired books from the device, add them to the book basket, verify their identity using the Yeongdeungpo-gu public library app or library membership card, and then borrow the books.

Since 2019, the district has been continuously expanding smart libraries and book reservation lending and return machines to provide non-face-to-face book lending services without time constraints.

Currently, Yeongdeungpo-gu operates four smart libraries, including the newly opened Yangpyeong Station, Yeongdeungpo No.1 Sports Center, No.2 Sports Center, and Yeouido Station. Additionally, six book reservation lending and return machines are operated, allowing users to borrow and return reserved books anytime and anywhere.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, "We are focusing on creating lifestyle-friendly libraries such as smart libraries, book reservation lending and return machines, and the One-Dong One-Village Library project so that more people can enjoy the pleasure of books," and added, "We will continue to provide various services to improve residents' reading convenience and create a 'knowledge culture city Yeongdeungpo' where books are accessible anytime, anywhere."

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) received the grand prize at the 21st Natural Environment Awards for Hangdong Ecological Park. This is the fifth award following grand prizes in 2011 and 2015, an excellence award in 2018, and another grand prize in 2019.

Hosted by the Korea Ecological Restoration Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, the Natural Environment Awards aim to discover exemplary cases of eco-friendly ecological spaces that have been excellently preserved and restored, developing them into green growth models.

Guro-gu received the grand prize, the Minister of Environment Award, for Hangdong Ecological Park, which has been restored as a nature-friendly space inhabited by various species.

The area around Cheonwangsan (Hangdong 148) where Hangdong Ecological Park is located had long suffered from unauthorized cultivation damaging the forest and litter being left unattended.

To transform this area into a nature-friendly space for residents, Guro-gu carried out ecological forest construction from April to December last year, investing 500 million KRW of national funds secured through the Ministry of Environment's Ecosystem Conservation Cooperation Fund Return Project.

As a result, Cheonwangsan now features an ecological pond, retention wetlands, bird habitats, observation decks, forest ecological playgrounds, and walking trails, creating a total ecological park area of 9,100 square meters that provides an environment where various species can live.

Guro-gu selected the winged clubtail dragonfly and the red-headed bunting as target species in the area and secured suitable habitats. To expand green spaces, 279 trees including pine, plum, and hawthorn, 5,100 shrubs such as evergreen shrubs, hydrangea, and azalea, and about 8,000 herbaceous plants like Korean chrysanthemum and iris were planted.

The district plans to operate ecological exploration and experiential learning programs for visitors and nearby residents in the future.

A Guro-gu official said, "We expect more residents to visit Hangdong Ecological Park following this award," and added, "We will continue to strive to expand nature-friendly spaces so that residents can enjoy nature close to home."

Cheonwangsan, along with Hangdong Ecological Park, hosts various cultural experience facilities such as family camping sites, smart farms, urban agriculture experience centers, artificial rock climbing walls, and book resting areas, loved by many residents.

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) and affiliated institutions (Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, Korea University, Kookmin University, Dongduk Women's University, Hansung University) that signed an industry-academia cooperation MOU held the '2021 Seongbuk-gu Excellent Startup Investment Attraction Demo Day' on the 18th.

'Demo Day' is an event designed to promote startups' excellence and capabilities to investors to facilitate investment. Eleven top companies that completed the first-stage investment activation training and 1:1 mentoring program with excellent results participated.

The event provided each company with an IR pitching opportunity to explain their services, value, and growth potential. Five teams were selected based on high scores from judges composed of investment institution officials. The awards were: Grand Prize to 'S2N,' Excellence Award to 'Complexion,' and Merit Awards to 'Partverse,' 'Resona Media,' and 'Bostfit.' Regardless of awards, all participating companies will continue to receive support jointly from the affiliated institutions.

Since 2011, Seongbuk-gu has proactively supported youth startups through the One-Person Creative Enterprise Support Center and Challenge Dormitory. In this evaluation, three companies residing in these centers received favorable reviews from judges and awards, reflecting achievements in youth entrepreneurship over the past decade.

Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, "I hope the young people preparing startups in Seongbuk-gu grow into successful companies with the passion they showed at this Demo Day despite difficult circumstances," and added, "Seongbuk-gu will continue to do its best as a strong supporter of youth."

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that from December 21, it will begin issuing next-generation electronic passports made of plastic (polycarbonate) material with enhanced security and durability.

The next-generation electronic passport will change the cover color from green to navy blue and expand the maximum number of visa pages to 58. The design incorporates images of Korean cultural heritage. Resident registration numbers are excluded, and with changes to the passport number system, various latest security features are applied, enhancing functionality.

Existing passport stock will be rapidly depleted, and alongside the issuance of next-generation passports, applicants can choose to receive passports with validity under five years (passport issuance fee 15,000 KRW), which have lower fees.

Also, from Tuesday, December 21, 2021, the 'Additional Booklet Visa Page System,' which added booklet-type visa pages when visa pages were insufficient, will be abolished. Postal direct delivery service (for applicants visiting passport agencies) and birthplace notation (upon separate application) will be implemented.

Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "With the transition to phased daily recovery in the With-COVID era, residents' expectations for overseas travel are increasing," and added, "We will do our best to provide prompt and convenient passport administrative services to residents without disruption."

Customized latest college entrance information will be provided for high school seniors who have finished the CSAT.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) will hold the '2022 College Entrance Regular Admission Briefing Session' on December 7 for examinees and parents preparing for college entrance exams.

This briefing session is designed to provide the latest entrance information and customized regular admission support strategies to prepare for the rapidly changing university entrance system. To enhance user convenience, the session will be available both online and offline simultaneously.

The lecture will be given by Yoon Yoon-gu, a leading EBSi entrance exam instructor and author of 'The Art of Entrance Exams as Much as You Know' and 'Core Strategies for Comprehensive Student Records Screening.'

Main lecture topics include ▲Analysis of 2022 regular admission features and prospects ▲College application strategies, providing core strategies for regular admission such as 2022 regular admission outlook, considerations when applying, and analysis of application trends by grade.

The briefing will be held at 4 p.m. on December 7 at the Gangseo-gu Citizen Hall Woojang Hall and is open to anyone interested, including college entrance examinees and parents. To prevent COVID-19 spread, on-site participation is limited to 80 people, and quarantine rules will be strictly followed.

Those wishing to participate should scan the QR code on the promotional material and apply by November 30.

All on-site participants will receive a free 'College Entrance Briefing Core Materials Booklet,' and 10 participants will be selected by lottery to receive one-on-one online college entrance consulting.

The briefing will also be streamed live on Gangseo-gu Office's YouTube channel 'iGangseoTV' for online viewing.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Sung Chang-hyun) will operate a winter vacation English camp for children in cooperation with Sookmyung Women's University (President Jang Yoon-geum).

The camp period is divided into two sessions: the first from January 1 to 14, 2022, and the second from January 17 to 28, held five days a week (Monday to Friday). The education time is four hours per day (9 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.).

To prevent COVID-19 spread, the TESOL graduate school at Sookmyung, known for training international English teachers, developed an online English camp program. Using kits for science and art making and small team projects, the camp strengthens participants' English communication and presentation skills. Classes are conducted via the online video program ZOOM.

Since the camp is online, children from dual-income families or those whose guardians cannot support commuting can participate without difficulty, according to the district.

The participation fee is 500,000 KRW per person. However, the district supports 250,000 KRW, reducing the personal burden to 250,000 KRW. Low-income groups (basic livelihood security recipients, near-poverty groups, low-income single-parent families, etc.) receive full support from the district.

The number of participants is 133 (including 14 low-income participants). Any elementary school students in grades 3 to 6 registered as residents in the area can participate, excluding foreigners and overseas Koreans residing in Korea.

Those wishing to participate can apply through the Yongsan-gu Education Comprehensive Portal from 9 a.m. on November 24 to 6 p.m. on December 3.

Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, and to prepare for withdrawals or disqualifications, reserve applicants will also be guided. After a level test, five classes will be formed with up to 14 students per class. Each class will have three dedicated teachers (one native foreigner and two Koreans), totaling 15 teachers.

Sung Chang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "As with the summer vacation, we are operating the camp online, reducing class hours and expanding the number of participants," and added, "I hope this camp will be a good memory for participating students."

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) is accepting applications for the '2022 Eco-friendly Agricultural Materials (Organic Fertilizer) Support Project' to establish environmentally friendly natural circulation agriculture and promote the production of high-quality safe agricultural products.

Applicants must be agricultural management entities registered with agricultural management information (support is provided for farmland registered under the applicant's agricultural management entity information). Applications are accepted from 9 a.m. on November 9 to 6 p.m. on December 8 by visiting the local community service center in the farmland area and submitting a supply application form.

The types of fertilizers supported include three types of organic fertilizers (mixed organic fertilizer cake, mixed organic fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer) and two types of matured organic fertilizers (livestock manure compost, compost).

This project subsidizes part of the purchase cost of supported fertilizers bought through local agricultural cooperatives, as detailed in the table below.

For inquiries related to the '2022 Eco-friendly Agricultural Materials (Organic Fertilizer) Support Project,' contact the Urban Agriculture Team of the Parks and Greenery Division at Eunpyeong-gu Office.

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) will distribute a special issue of the 'Eunpyeong Youth Newsletter' for youth who took the CSAT.

The district planned the special issue titled 'Finished CSAT? No CSAT to Just Pass By! All Eunpyeong Youth, Enjoy It All!' to provide various youth program information so that youth, who have been exhausted preparing for the CSAT, can fully enjoy and relax.

The newsletter covers projects from district and city youth facilities and related organizations in the Eunpyeong area. The main contents include four categories: ▲Youth Culture & Festivals ▲Online Career and Job Experience ▲Social Participation & Learning ▲Youth Counseling and Out-of-School Examinees, with a total of 28 content items. The mobile newsletter includes access links to each institution's homepage, phone, and program registration to enhance accessibility and convenience.

The youth programs started on the CSAT day, the 18th. Participation is open to all youth, not just examinees. Major programs include ▲High School Seniors Are the Boss ▲Squid Game ▲Online Career Fair 'Dream' ▲Youth Social Participation Presentation Contest Big Meeting & Quiz Show, offering various youth entertainment and experiential activities both online and offline.

The special issue newsletter is distributed via KakaoTalk 'Eunpyeong Tomorrow News' and sent to schools and youth facilities with official documents. It can also be viewed on the district website's 'Eunpyeong Youth Newsletter' section or via access links. For further inquiries, contact the Citizen Education Division at Eunpyeong-gu Office.

Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, "All examinees worked hard for a long time preparing for the CSAT," and added, "I hope they participate in various youth programs and enjoy themselves to the fullest."

Seocho Bicycle Repair Center Appearance (2021 Grand Prize)

Seocho-gu's eco-friendly administration responding to the climate crisis has once again been recognized globally.

Seocho-gu announced that it won three awards at the '2020/2021 The Green Apple Awards' ceremony held in London, UK, on the 15th (local time).

This ceremony was held together for the 2020 and 2021 awardees because last year's ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19.

Seocho-gu achieved its best-ever results at The Green Apple Awards, winning the grand prize (Champion) for the Bicycle Repair Center and Free Cleaning Service (2021) and the Seocho Umbrella Repair Center (2020), and a silver prize for the Yangjaecheon Cheoncheon (Slow) Tour (2020).

Seocho-gu also won silver awards in 2017 and 2018 for the crosswalk shade 'Seoripul Wondumak' and the bus stop cold weather shelter 'Seoripul Igloo,' respectively.

The Green Apple Awards, organized by the UK environmental nonprofit 'The Green Organization' and recognized by the European Commission, the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and the UK Environment Agency, is one of the world's four major international environmental awards selecting outstanding eco-friendly cases worldwide.

The district's Bicycle Repair Center and Free Cleaning Service, which won the grand prize this year, were recognized for their excellence in bicycle recycling and carbon reduction projects. Seocho-gu operates free bicycle repair centers and on-site repair services at Bangbae and Sadang stations, repairing about 720 abandoned bicycles and donating them to neighbors in need, promoting bicycle use. The eco-friendly 'Seocho Bicycle Cleaning Service' that saves water without using detergents has also received great public response.

The Seocho Umbrella Repair Center, which won the grand prize in 2020, was highly evaluated as an eco-friendly green project recycling easily discarded resources. Started nationwide for the first time in 2003, it has repaired 150,000 umbrellas to date, averaging about 700 per month, the highest nationwide. It also plays a vital role as a self-support project providing jobs to vulnerable groups with work ability but difficulty finding employment.

The Yangjaecheon Cheoncheon Tour, which won the silver prize in 2020, was praised as an excellent public environmental policy instilling the importance of environmental education in future generations of children. The 'Yangjaecheon Cheoncheon Tour,' meaning 'slow tour enjoying the stream,' is a program that helps participants realize the importance of stream conservation through experiences with various flora and fauna inhabiting Yangjaecheon.

The ceremony was held on a small scale at a hotel in London due to COVID-19.

Acting Mayor Cheon Jeong-wook said, "This award is the result of responding to the climate crisis and promoting eco-friendly, life-close administration," and added, "We will continue to discover various eco-friendly projects and strive to provide green administration that helps residents."

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) prepared a budget of 905.6 billion KRW for 2022 and submitted it to the Gwanak-gu Council on the 19th. This is an increase of 110.3 billion KRW, or 13.9%, compared to this year, consisting of 887.67 billion KRW in the general account and 17.98 billion KRW in the special account.

The district focused on revitalizing the local economy, which has been depressed due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and expanding investments to resolve residents' inconveniences, emphasizing recovery to daily life.

The economy and jobs sector will receive a total of 21.2 billion KRW, an increase of over 88% compared to 2021. Support will focus on small business owners and revitalizing alley markets and traditional markets, including the Gwanak-style Artterior Project (500 million KRW), Zero Pay and local currency operation (2.485 billion KRW), and the establishment of a small business promotion fund to support small and venture companies (3.3 billion KRW).

Public job projects to overcome employment crises will also be greatly expanded. The Gwanak-style Livelihood Stability Job Project (4.787 billion KRW) will create 1,000 public jobs, and the Gwanak-style Small Business Internship (126 million KRW) will provide internship support funds to 20 people. Investments will also be made in venture and startup company technology consulting support (100 million KRW), startup scale-up projects (570 million KRW), and the establishment of Gwanak S Valley startup support facilities (2.068 billion KRW) to sustain growth.

The health and hygiene sector will be allocated 27.1 billion KRW, a 75% increase from this year, focusing on operating screening clinics for COVID-19 response, COVID-19 vaccinations, and national immunizations to ensure residents' health management.

The road and transportation sector will receive 44.1 billion KRW, a 39.4% increase from this year. This includes road maintenance (5.364 billion KRW), including 500 million KRW for old alley road repairs, construction of an underground public parking lot at Sangdo Neighborhood Park (3.01 billion KRW), and expansion of the Haengun-dong No.1 public parking lot (3.8 billion KRW) to improve aging infrastructure and alleviate parking difficulties.

The social welfare sector accounts for 55.3% of the total budget, 500.9 billion KRW, carefully implementing projects to protect vulnerable groups and strengthen welfare safety nets, such as basic pensions, livelihood and housing benefits, and senior job and social activity support. Support will also be provided for childcare and childbirth policies, including infant allowances and first meeting vouchers.

The local development sector, closely related to residents' daily lives, will invest 27.3 billion KRW in improving inconveniences in living bases, including support for relocating utility poles causing traffic inconvenience (854 million KRW), expansion and maintenance of sewage facilities (3.537 billion KRW), and maintenance of parks, streets, and green belts (1.594 billion KRW).

The cleaning and environment sector will receive 44.1 billion KRW, a 20% increase from this year, and the culture and sports sector will be allocated 22.4 billion KRW, including operation of the Gwanak Cultural Foundation (9.722 billion KRW) and hosting the residents' sports competition (205 million KRW).

The education sector will receive 6 billion KRW, a 1 billion KRW increase from this year, and 14.9 billion KRW will be invested in school meal free support (5.893 billion KRW) and entrance preparation funds for new elementary, middle, and high school students (456 million KRW). Additionally, 2.3 billion KRW will be allocated to safety, including maintaining quarantine systems in multi-use facilities using disaster management funds (940 million KRW).

Considering the district's characteristic of having many single-person households, which accounted for about 60% of total households (164,000 out of 276,000) as of September 2021, 40 direct support projects for single-person households will be selected, investing 7.4 billion KRW to create a happier Gwanak where diverse families live together.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, "Although everyone is struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we will do our best to improve the quality of life through thorough investment and support in all areas of district administration, including economy, welfare, culture, and transportation, so that residents can return to daily life as soon as possible."

"I have rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's, and when the pain comes, I unknowingly get annoyed with my caregiver, but she always accepts it with a smile without showing any displeasure," said Jeong Soon-ja (pseudonym), an elderly woman using a nursing facility in Mapo.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) awarded commendations to 11 exemplary elderly care workers at 3 p.m. on the 19th.

The commendation ceremony, held as part of the '3rd Elderly Care Workers Harmony Festival,' was organized to honor the contributions of long-term care institution workers who care for the elderly on the front lines and to boost pride and confidence in elderly care.

A total of 11 recipients were selected through public evaluation after recommendations from long-term care institutions in the area.

Among them, the head nurse on the 3rd floor of the Western Seoul Elderly Specialized Nursing Center was commended not only for kindly checking the elderly's daily health status but also for closely monitoring health to minimize secondary complications, achieving a 3rd-floor hospitalization rate of 1.45%, about half of the hospital's overall average of 2.46%.

The ceremony was held with fewer than 100 attendees in line with the phased recovery from COVID-19, and gratitude and congratulations were conveyed through a pre-recorded congratulatory video.

Additionally, the ceremony video will be broadcast on the 'Seoul Elderly Care Workers Comprehensive Support Center YouTube' channel during the 'Elderly Care Workers Harmony Festival' event held online on the 26th.

As of the third quarter this year, among about 54,000 people aged 65 or older in Mapo-gu, about 12,000 (22.2%) live alone. One in five elderly people aged 65 or older urgently needs nursing care services when seriously ill.

Accordingly, the district operates 108 long-term care institutions and 4,084 care workers who support the daily lives of elderly people in need of care.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "All care workers doing their best despite COVID-19 are heroes of our time," and added, "Mapo-gu will do its best to create an environment where elderly care workers can focus solely on care."

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) will provide cold-weather supplies for screening clinics, temporary screening clinics, and field investigation workers in preparation for this winter's cold wave.

Recently, with the rapid increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the number of tests and field investigations has surged, increasing the workload of screening clinics and field investigators. Moreover, the upcoming winter cold wave raises serious concerns about the health of field workers.

Accordingly, the district will supply cold-weather items such as ▲heated vests ▲heating devices ▲hand and foot warmers ▲neck warmers ▲cold-weather gloves ▲earmuffs to screening clinics and field investigation workers.

Additionally, to ensure residents waiting for COVID-19 tests can wait warmly and safely, the district expanded windbreak sections and installed heating equipment in waiting areas to improve the environment.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "I deeply thank the workers who silently stand their ground amid the endless COVID-19 response work," and added, "I hope this year will be the last winter fighting COVID-19, and we will continue to make every effort to implement effective quarantine measures and support field workers' convenience."