Dongjak-gu Monochrome Retaining Wall Transforms into a Famous Landmark Lighting Up the Night Street

[Seoul District News] Dongjak-gu Completes Landscape Improvement of Aging Retaining Walls over 40 Years Old at ▲Sadang-ro in Front of Sanghyeon Middle School ▲Hyo Sajung on Hyeonchung-ro with Fresh Designs Featuring Local Themes like ▲Constellations ▲Hangang Scenery, Enhances Visibility with LED Lighting... Gangdong-gu Opens Cheonho Aureum Center... Seodaemun-gu Creates Eco-Friendly Cork Path to Experience Ansan Barefoot... Guro-gu Converts Gungdong Senior Center and Gaon Daycare into ‘Eco-Friendly Buildings’... ‘Mapodungi Children’s Festival’ December 1-10 at ‘Mapodungi Ontong Playground’ Homepage

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 1st that it has completed a landscape improvement project for two aging retaining walls along major roads in the area.

The targeted retaining walls for this landscape improvement are ▲the retaining wall in front of Sanghyeon Middle School on Sadang-ro (length 379m, maximum height 14m) and ▲the retaining wall in front of Hyosajeong on Hyeonchung-ro (length 220m, height 5m), both located on busy routes frequently used by residents and vehicles.

These retaining walls are facilities over 40 years old. Although there are no structural issues due to continuous maintenance through regular inspections, the aging concrete surface has impaired the urban aesthetics, leading to demands for improvement from local residents.

During the project, the district commissioned Professor Lee Seok-hyun (Director of the Institute of Arts and Culture) at Chung-Ang University to design and plan a bright and fresh design incorporating local characteristics to replace the existing achromatic retaining walls.

After completing the design last year, construction began in earnest in May this year, including ▲production of design sculptures and lighting facilities ▲installation of highly visible LED lights ▲adjustment of lighting facilities, with all construction completed by mid-month. As a result, the retaining wall in front of Sanghyeon Middle School, located on high ground, expresses “the shining constellations of Dongjak embroidered in the night sky,” while the retaining wall in front of Hyosajeong along the Han River features a design conceptualizing “the scenic view of the Han River from Hyosajeong, expressed through architecture, pine trees, and the beauty of color and space,” along with the lettering ‘Hyosajeong.’

Baek Won-gi, Director of the Road Management Division, stated, “We will continue to maintain aging and faded road facilities to create safe and pleasant road environments and strive to improve urban aesthetics.”

Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) held the opening ceremony of the ‘Cheonho Aureum Center’ on November 30 to reduce health disparities in small living areas around Gucheonmyeon-ro and enhance residents’ welfare.

The ‘Cheonho Aureum Center’ consists of four facilities: ▲‘Cheonho Health Branch,’ ▲‘Single-Person Household Support Center,’ ▲‘Physical Fitness Certification Center,’ and ▲‘Social Economy Enterprise Innovation Place.’ It is expected to function as a key facility in the old downtown area alongside other hub spaces created in the ‘Gucheonmyeon-ro Walkable Street Creation’ project underway in the Gucheonmyeon-ro area.

The ‘Gucheonmyeon-ro Walkable Street Creation’ project, promoted in the Gucheonmyeon-ro area, expands the concept of ‘spatial welfare’ that the district has emphasized, and currently 42 projects are actively underway based on communication with residents.

Various urban landscape improvement projects such as undergrounding power lines are being implemented, and to expand insufficient living infrastructure, hub spaces have been established throughout the street, including the opening of five youth attic workshops, among other initiatives to revitalize the street.

The newly opened ‘Cheonho Aureum Center’ is a regionally customized specialized facility tailored to the Gucheonmyeon-ro area, which has a high proportion of vulnerable groups and single-person households.

Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “We are expanding living SOC facilities lacking in the old downtown area and conducting various village regeneration projects. We will strengthen communication with local residents to ensure that customized facilities essential to residents, like the newly established ‘Cheonho Aureum Center,’ can be created.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced on the 1st that it has recently created an ‘eco-friendly cork-paved barefoot path’ on Ansan (鞍山) walking trail, a natural-friendly space frequently visited by citizens.

This path, 600m long and 1.2 to 1.8m wide, extends from the back gate of Yeonbuk Middle School in Yeonhui-dong to the Park Doo-jin monument located at the entrance of the Ansan ridge trail.

Originally paved with rubber chips, the aging trail was renovated with eco-friendly cork paving to create a path suitable for barefoot walking.

The district installed barefoot path floor guidance and dust brushes here and plans to build a foot washing station.

This ‘Ansan Trail Cork Floor Paving Maintenance’ project was completed with a free cork paving support worth 86 million KRW, provided after the district was selected as a target institution for the ‘2021 2nd Public Procurement Service Innovation Product Pilot Project.’

Mayor Moon Seok-jin said, “I hope many people walk along this eco-friendly barefoot path and the Metasequoia forest trail in Seodaemun-gu to recover their body and mind exhausted by COVID-19.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that it will hold the ‘Geumcheon One Family Walking Together Event’ on December 4.

Geumcheon-gu has been holding monthly walking events to promote residents’ health and foster harmony among residents, but this event will be held for the first time in about two years due to the spread of COVID-19.

Under the theme of ‘Overcoming COVID-19,’ the event will take place along Anyangcheon. To ensure safety, COVID-19 prevention measures such as participant temperature checks, vaccination verification, and registration will be strictly followed.

Participants will start at 8 a.m. from the Anyangcheon Multipurpose Plaza, walk about 3.5 km by turning at the Haan Pedestrian Bridge turnaround point, passing through Doksan Pedestrian Bridge, and returning to the starting plaza. A prize event for finishers is also prepared.

Up to 400 residents who have completed vaccination or tested negative for COVID-19 can participate on a first-come, first-served basis. Those under 18 years old can participate regardless of vaccination status.

Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “I hope this healthy walk will be an opportunity for residents exhausted by COVID-19 to regain vitality,” and “I ask for active participation from those interested.”

Guro-gu’s Gung-dong Senior Center and Gaon Daycare Center have transformed into ‘eco-friendly buildings.’

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) announced on the 1st that it conducted a ‘Zero Energy Building (ZEB)’ conversion remodeling project targeting public childcare and elderly facilities in the district to actively respond to the climate crisis and recently obtained building energy efficiency certification.

The building energy efficiency rating is a system by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that evaluates energy performance, including energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and certifies buildings with 10 grades (1+++ to 7). Certification provides incentives such as tax reductions and relaxation of building floor area ratio and height restrictions.

Guro-gu started remodeling work in December last year to convert the two facilities into zero-energy buildings and completed it in October this year. With a total investment of 1.944 billion KRW from city and district funds, insulation materials, windows, heating and cooling systems inside and outside the buildings were replaced with high-efficiency products, and structural improvements and reinforcements were carried out.

After completion, the remodeling performance was verified by a Ministry-designated company, and the buildings received energy efficiency certification of grade 1++ or higher.

The buildings apply passive technologies that minimize heating and cooling energy use and active technologies that produce renewable energy. Through this, heating and cooling energy consumption is minimized, and renewable energy is self-produced with an 18.5 kW solar power system.

Guro-gu plans to obtain additional building energy efficiency certifications this month for five other facilities: Gocheok Daycare Center, Narae Daycare Center, Baekgok Senior Center, Jungang Senior Center, and Hwawon Senior Center.

An official from Guro-gu said, “To reduce greenhouse gases, we will convert not only new buildings but also existing buildings into zero-energy buildings and continue efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in response to the climate crisis.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that the elevator installation work at Ogeumbo Pedestrian Overpass, a long-standing wish of local residents, has been completed and has been operating normally since the end of November.

Last year, the district installed an elevator on the Yangcheon Apartment side of Ogeumbo Pedestrian Overpass to facilitate residents’ movement. However, on the opposite side near 201 Sinjeong-dong, only stairs and ramps were installed, causing inconvenience for pedestrians who had difficulty using stairs, as they had to cross two crosswalks. Moreover, the ramp toward Gocheok-dong occupied most of the sidewalk, narrowing the pedestrian path and making passage difficult.

To resolve these inconveniences for residents using the overpass, the district secured a special grant of 480 million KRW in 2021 and carried out construction for four months from July, opening the elevator at the end of November.

The installed elevator can accommodate up to 15 people (1000 kg). It also applies safety features such as ▲fall prevention ▲automatic rescue operation ▲pinch prevention technology to ensure safer and more convenient use by residents.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “With the installation of the elevator at Ogeumbo Pedestrian Overpass, a safe walking environment has been created for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and pregnant women,” and “We will continue to improve transportation facilities and walking environments in the area carefully to ensure no vulnerable groups are left out.”

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) held a ‘Volunteer Day’ commemorative ceremony at the district office auditorium on the 1st.

Volunteer Day was organized to express gratitude and encouragement to 88,553 volunteers in Gwangjin-gu who devoted themselves to the community and neighbors throughout the year and to boost volunteers’ pride.

The event included ▲Volunteer Day commemorative ceremony ▲awards and certificates for volunteer merit (over 400 hours) ▲commemorative photo session.

A total of 36 individuals and groups who actively participated in volunteer activities and showed outstanding performance, including youth volunteers, received commendations. Forty-one individuals with over 300 hours of annual volunteer work received volunteer badges and performance certificates.

This year, volunteers played key roles in maintaining order and providing guidance at screening clinics and vaccination centers. Around the Chuseok holiday, they conducted vaccination encouragement campaigns with the Gwangjin Disaster Recovery Civil Council for four days, eliciting strong responses and active participation from many residents.

Volunteers were also visible in various COVID-19 response sites, such as mask production and packaging of quarantine supplies, highlighting the significance and presence of volunteering.

Notably, since the opening of the Gwangjin Volunteer Center in December 1988, the highest number of young people participated in volunteering this year, indicating growing interest and support from the younger generation for social issues.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “The ability to endure the long tunnel of COVID-19 is thanks to the dedication of volunteers who actively serve on the front lines and care for neighbors in need,” and “I sincerely thank and respect the 88,000 volunteers, true heroes of our time, and will continue to support volunteering as a foundation for building social safety nets.”

Amid growing anxiety among families with unvaccinated children due to fears of the COVID-19 Omicron (Greek letter o) variant, Mapo-gu has prepared welcome news to help families decide what to do with their children during the year-end period.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced that it will hold the ‘Mapo Dungi Children’s Festival,’ one of the district’s representative festivals, from December 1 to December 10.

Celebrating its 11th year, the festival is named ‘Mapo Dungi Ontong Playground Festival,’ which has a double meaning: ‘an online (ON) communication (通) playground’ and ‘an all-around (Ontong) playground.’

This year’s children’s festival offers a variety of events on the ‘Mapo Dungi Ontong Playground Homepage,’ a virtual playground themed as an amusement park designed to stimulate children’s interest and curiosity.

The festival is divided into three themes. In the ‘Dream Dungi Ontact Playground,’ parents of infants and toddlers can access online performances and educational programs from December 1, including ‘Understanding Infant Sexual Behavior and Preventing Smartphone Overdependence,’ home training (HomeFit) to promote height growth, family musicals such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Peter Rabbit,’ and puppet shows like ‘Mom Doesn’t Teach.’

In the ‘Talented Dungi Challenge Playground,’ videos and photos of infants and toddlers having fun with their families are showcased.

To dispel potential depression caused by prolonged COVID-19, the ‘Our Family Superstar Challenge (video)’ and ‘With Corona, Discovery of Laughter Challenge (photo)’ collected entries from November 10 to 21. The finalists (15 videos, 40 photos) are posted on the homepage during the event period, where visitors can vote ‘likes’ and professional judges evaluate them.

The ‘Mapo Dungi Online Playground’ is a hybrid online and offline event broadcast live via Zoom and Mapo-gu YouTube (My Mapo), held on December 9 at the Majung Hall (6th floor) of Mapo Central Library.

At 11 a.m., an awards ceremony for outstanding works among the finalists posted in the ‘Talented Dungi Challenge Playground’ will be held. Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun will transform into a chef and communicate with families of infants and toddlers via Zoom while cooking in the ‘Home Restaurant with Yoo Chef’ program.

At 4 p.m., the ‘2021 Mapo-gu Childcare Growth Competition’ will present awards to childcare service contributors and hold a performance supporting childcare teachers. Comedians Jo Seung-hee and Jang Hyo-in will host a ‘Childcare Staff Healing Talk Concert’ via Zoom to comfort and entertain childcare teachers exhausted by COVID-19.

During the event period, various other activities are planned, including ‘Stamp Attendance’ on the homepage, ‘HomeFit Certification Shot’ for home training videos promoting height growth, and ‘Happy Parent Untact Lecture’ offering gifts to the first participants completing online parent education.

Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said, “Happy memories with parents during childhood are precious gifts for children,” and “I hope many people participate in this children’s festival to fill year-end infant and toddler households with happiness.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) was selected as an excellent institution in the 2021 comprehensive local government financial analysis evaluation conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and secured a special financial incentive grant of 50 million KRW.

On the 9th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety released the results of analyzing the 2020 fiscal year financial status of 243 local governments nationwide based on 13 indicators in three areas: soundness, efficiency, and planning. Local governments were classified by type according to population and financial conditions, and 43 were selected as ‘best’ overall and ‘excellent’ in efficiency and planning.

Dongdaemun-gu achieved excellent results in financial efficiency by actively securing local taxes, managing revenue through reducing delinquent taxes, and managing expenditures appropriately by reducing transfer payments and the ratio of self-funded expenses.

An official from the district said that the special financial incentive grant of 50 million KRW will be used for various projects for residents in the future.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “Amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and difficult local economy, the importance of prompt execution and efficient management of local finances is increasing to revitalize the local economy and establish a safety net for residents,” and “We will continue to do our best to recover the local economy affected by COVID-19 through active and efficient financial management.”

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Sung Chang-hyun) will resume face-to-face consultations at the free expert consultation office, which had been suspended, starting December 1, as part of the phased return to daily life.

Face-to-face consultations will be held for two hours from 3 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday to Thursday according to the schedule for each field, including law, taxation, real estate, and architecture.

In addition to Yongsan residents, local business owners and workers who have been vaccinated or have a negative PCR test can use the service. Unvaccinated individuals can still receive consultations online via Zoom or by phone as before.

Since February 24, 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the district has been providing free expert consultations online only to registered residents on the Yongsan-gu website.

In April this year, the consultation office was relocated from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor of the Yongsan-gu Comprehensive Administrative Town to improve visitor accessibility. There are 49 consultants in various fields, including 14 lawyers, 11 architects, 6 tax accountants, 5 labor attorneys, 4 judicial scriveners, 4 patent attorneys, and 4 certified real estate agents.

Consultations cover ▲administrative, civil, criminal, and family cases related to residents’ lives ▲legal advice and interpretation related to city and district administrative dispositions ▲employment, wages, labor standards, intellectual and industrial property rights ▲and other matters related to taxes, architecture, real estate, patents, and residents’ daily lives.

Consultation reservations can be made by visiting the Yongsan-gu Civil Affairs and Passport Division, by phone, or online (Yongsan-gu website). On the reserved date, a 30-minute one-on-one face-to-face consultation is conducted.

After consultation, the expert consultant writes a report. Important matters are forwarded to relevant departments and agencies for administrative reflection. If administrative dispositions are found to be illegal or unfair, written notification and correction recommendations are sent to the relevant departments or agencies.

Mayor Sung Chang-hyun said, “Consulting with experts on important matters is the best way to reduce losses,” and “Please actively use the free expert consultation service provided by the district anytime.”

Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Sung-soo) announced on the 1st that it is accepting musical instrument donations at the ‘Songpa Saem Musical Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio’ to give idle instruments a new life as instruments for residents.

Opened in May after remodeling the underground passage space at Songpa-gu Office intersection, the ‘Songpa Saem Musical Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio’ is a space where anyone can satisfy their artistic and cultural thirst by sharing instruments and experiencing and learning music. It has facilities such as studios, music creation rooms, instrument storage, and a small performance hall, and holds about 500 instruments including keyboard, string, wind instruments, recording, and MIDI equipment.

The district aims to spread a sharing culture and create a sustainable instrument circulation ecosystem by receiving donations of idle instruments unused at homes and schools at the ‘Songpa Saem Musical Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio’ and sharing them with residents.

Donations can be made by entering information such as instrument type, purchase year, and photos on the Songpa Saem Education Portal and applying. However, mass-produced instruments like tambourines, recorders, melodians, or bulky pianos are restricted from donation. Instruments that are severely damaged or broken and cannot be reused with basic repairs are also not accepted.

Donated instruments undergo repair, tuning, parts replacement, and disinfection to be reborn in various ways for residents.

First, donated instruments are registered on the Songpa Saem Education Portal so that youth and students can apply for rental and use them. They are also linked with Songpa Saem’s own music education programs, including biography books, to support participation of students without instruments. Additionally, the district plans to re-donate instruments to local children and youth centers or schools for use in music programs and education.

Furthermore, donors receive benefits such as one free use of instrument rental and studio (practice room) rental at the musical instrument library.

Park Sung-soo, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “This instrument donation will be an opportunity for the ‘Songpa Saem Musical Instrument Library & Music Creation Studio’ to become a closer and more friendly space for residents,” and “We will continue to do our best to make it easy for anyone to access instruments, music, culture, and arts and to have various experiences through the facility.”