[Seoul District News] Majang Cheonggyecheon Section Features Illumiatri, LED Moon Benches, and Photo Zones with Milky Way Lighting for Emotional Attractions · Signs Offering Hope and Courage to Encourage Residents Weary from COVID-19... Songpa-gu Installs Promotional Sculptures for Tourist Attractions like Seokchon-dong Ancient Tombs... Gangdong-gu Creates Cheonho Bicycle Theme Street from Cheonho Park Intersection to Han River's Jjeun Nadeulmok... Jongno-gu Hosts 'Emperor's Bow' Exhibition at Hwanghakjeong Archery Museum... Mapo-gu Provides Winter Shoes, Gloves, and Hot Packs to 135 Private Recycling Collectors
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is installing emotional light sculptures along the Majang Cheonggyecheon section until the 11th of next month to provide warm and sentimental sights to citizens strolling along Cheonggyecheon during the year-end and New Year season.
The photo zone is composed of LED sculptures such as sparkling trees (Illumiatri), moon benches, and rabbit dolls, with LED signs displaying messages like "The spring days of my life are always now," "I'm on your side, cheer up," and "Uriduri Jalmajang," illuminating the darkness to evoke the atmosphere of winter nights filled with hope and courage.
Additionally, in the landscaping space, centered around the plaza, symmetrical grass planting areas are decorated with brilliant Milky Way lights and LED balls, creating a fantastic and splendid atmosphere, allowing passersby to have a moment of healing while walking.
The Majang Terrace along Cheonggyecheon, a stepped resting area covering 2,165㎡ of green space, was completed last month as part of the Cheonggyecheon revitalization project to activate Majang-dong's urban regeneration. This small-scale "healing zone" aims to let residents feel the development of Majang-dong and the restored river functions in their daily lives.
Following last year's "Hope Artificial Moon" project conducted around Salgotyi Sports Park, the district also screened the "Silk Road 3D Lighting Show" on the flower path behind the Nanum Sharing Center building and the Residents' Comprehensive Sports Center in Seongsu-dong in the second half of this year, providing freshness and enjoyment to nearby pedestrians. Since this month, emotional light letters have been projected on the outer wall of the Seongdong-gu Council, delivering messages of hope and encouragement to residents.
Going forward, the district plans to actively engage in psychological quarantine for residents by sharing emotions and spreading hope through various media in daily life to comfort and support residents exhausted by COVID-19.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "Amid the prolonged difficulties caused by COVID-19, I hope this light sculpture installation offers a small healing opportunity to residents. We will do our best to share even the difficult feelings of residents to accompany them on the long journey back to normal life."
Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced that it has installed promotional sculptures highlighting the characteristics of each landmark at Songridan-gil, a representative tourist attraction street, and the entrance to the Seokchon-dong Ancient Tombs.
The district received a total of 80 million KRW in subsidies from Seoul City to revitalize Songpa's representative tourist attractions and installed promotional sculptures at ▲Songridan-gil ▲the entrance to Seokchon-dong Ancient Tombs.
From May, through two rounds of public contests, selected companies gathered residents' opinions online and offline for a week starting September 3. Based on survey results and the Songpa-gu Public Design Promotion Committee's review, the final design concept and ideas were decided, and installation was completed on November 22.
First, the sculpture at Songridan-gil, which has risen as a hot place in the city since 2019 and established itself as a representative tourist attraction in Seoul, was designed using Songpa-gu's promotional character "Songsong Papa," featuring a simple yet youthful and energetic design fitting for a city hotspot.
Also, the sculpture at Seokchon-dong Ancient Tombs was designed with the characteristic Su-maksae (roof tile end) pattern and the phrase "Breath of Baekje 493 years," reflecting the historical tourism features of Songpa-gu's Baekje Hanseong period.
The installation locations were pre-surveyed by producing and installing model sculptures to avoid obstructing pedestrian and vehicle traffic flow. Considering survey results and expert opinions, the final locations were chosen prioritizing the safety of visitors and residents, including pedestrians and drivers.
Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, "The promotional sculptures installed this time will provide tourists with another visual attraction and serve as guides introducing Songpa's landmarks. We will continue to promote Songpa's tourist attractions to revitalize the local economy, which was depressed due to COVID-19, and enhance Songpa's competitiveness as an international tourist city."
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) has created the "Cheonho Bicycle Theme Street" along Cheonho Bicycle Street, from Cheonho-dong Park Intersection to the Zzeumna Deulmok leading to the Han River.
Cheonho Bicycle Street was designated an honorary road name in 2016. This street is a good gateway to Han River Park, and over the past few years, bicycle-related stores have organically formed a commercial district, making it a specialized business street attracting visitors nationwide.
Accordingly, the district enhanced the brand by increasing the recognition and symbolism of Cheonho Bicycle Street and created a distinctive landscape themed around bicycles to further activate the street.
Symbolic guide signs for the bicycle street were installed at the entrance and the access point to the street. Additionally, brand signs and photo zones were set up, and bicycle racks were provided to stores along the street for visitors' use.
Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, "Besides Cheonho Bicycle Theme Street, Gangdong-gu is implementing various policies such as creating light streets in major alley commercial districts to support small business owners struggling due to COVID-19. We hope that Cheonho Bicycle Street, the nation's number one bicycle street, will establish itself as a regional brand leading local commercial revitalization."
Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) presented excellent climate and energy cases at the 'GCoM Korea Network Meeting' held on the 16th, hosted by the GCoM Korea Secretariat and ICLEI Korea Office, and sponsored by the Delegation of the European Union to Korea and the GCoM Asia project team.
Dobong-gu was recognized for its exemplary case of a basic local government implementing the '2050 Carbon Neutral Design' process, which includes promise, planning, implementation, and reporting, and was invited to present as an excellent climate and energy case.
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) is a global alliance of local governments committed to reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing climate resilience, and monitoring progress toward goals. Dobong-gu joined in October 2019 and has been active since.
This meeting was held to introduce the status and achievements of GCoM Global to domestic participating cities and share discussions from the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The meeting provided schedules and project plans for the newly launched GCoM Korea in 2022, supported by the EU and the GCoM Asia project, facilitating networking among representatives from 22 cities and information exchange with the GCoM Secretariat.
Dobong-gu was the only city in Korea to receive the highest A grade in the '2021 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)' evaluation of 965 cities worldwide and won the Minister of Environment Award at the '2021 Carbon Neutral Competition,' recognizing its achievements in climate and energy policy.
Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, "I am pleased that Dobong-gu was selected as an excellent case and given the opportunity to present, reflecting our efforts to proactively respond to the climate crisis at the local government level. We will continue to focus our capabilities through cooperation between the public and private sectors to achieve carbon neutrality."
Winter is a cold season when body and mind shrink. How about spending this winter meaningfully by experiencing Korea's traditional martial art, Gukgung (Korean archery), at Hwanghakjeong Gukgung Exhibition Hall?
Located in Sajik-dong, Hwanghakjeong was an archery range established by Emperor Gojong in 1899 at Gyeonghuigung Palace to revive the art of archery (Saye). During the Japanese colonial period, it was relocated to its current site and has served as the leader of the Gukgung community and the center of archery ranges nationwide for over 120 years.
Hwanghakjeong was designated as Seoul City Tangible Cultural Property No. 25 in 1974, and last year, "archery" was designated as Intangible Cultural Property No. 142, recognizing its value.
Jongno-gu opened the Gukgung Exhibition Hall within Hwanghakjeong in September 2014 to promote Gukgung culture and pass on its legacy to future generations.
The exhibition displays various artifacts and materials to learn about the history and culture of Korean archery and offers archery experience programs where visitors can personally experience the excellence and uniqueness of Korean bows.
Currently, the "Emperor's Bow" exhibition is ongoing at the fully revamped Hwanghakjeong Gukgung Exhibition Hall since last May. Notably, a new video room and resource room have been established, allowing visitors to explore the excellence of Korean bows through various media.
In October, on "Culture Day," a meaningful event was held where children made crossbows and tried shooting, promoting the excellence of Korea's traditional martial arts.
The archery experience program is currently under renovation for smooth operation and is scheduled to resume next year. For more details about the exhibition and experience programs, inquiries can be made to the Hwanghakjeong Gukgung Exhibition Hall.
A district official said, "We hope residents experience the excellence of Korea's traditional culture, Gukgung, at Hwanghakjeong Gukgung Exhibition Hall, and we will continue to strive to develop various contents that residents can participate in."
Mapo-gu announced on the 16th that it has completed the distribution of cold-weather gear to 135 private recycling collectors and 791 elderly participants in neighborhood community center job programs.
The district explained that the cold-weather gear was provided to prevent safety accidents during the harsh winter for private recycling collectors who work outdoors for long hours and elderly participants who play a significant role in cleaning local alleys.
For private recycling collectors, considering the nature of their work pulling carts on icy roads in winter, the district provided ▲one pair of anti-slip cold-weather boots ▲two pairs of cold-weather gloves ▲ten hot packs each.
Additionally, reflecting a university student's proposal to produce and support lightweight handcarts for safer collection activities of elderly paper collectors, 13 collectors who did not receive lightweight handcarts in the first half of this year were additionally supplied, following the distribution to 50 collectors earlier this year.
Since enacting the Ordinance on Support for Recycling Collectors in Mapo-gu in 2016, the district has annually provided safety education and safety gear, and in the second half of this year, distributed cold-weather gear and non-face-to-face safety education materials to replace in-person training due to COVID-19.
Elderly participants, who contribute to urban cleanliness by patrolling local alleys three times a week for three hours each day, received ▲one pair of smartphone gloves ▲one pair of earmuffs ▲ten hot packs.
To express gratitude for their efforts in maintaining a clean Mapo and safely completing the year, warm-hearted message stickers were attached to the cold-weather gear and delivered to the elderly.
Currently, 791 elderly participants are active in the "Street Environment Keeper" and "Village Environment Keeper" projects, which clean back roads and illegal dumping areas.
The district plans to recruit 700 elderly participants for next year’s community center job programs to support economic activities of seniors aged 65 and over receiving basic pensions and maintain clean back roads.
Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "I sincerely thank the collectors and elderly job participants who contributed to keeping Mapo's streets clean this year. We will continue to provide support to ensure safe working conditions on site."
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) finalized the 2022 main budget at 905.6 billion KRW after approval by the Gwanak-gu Council. This is an increase of 110.35 billion KRW (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 2022 budget for Gwanak-gu focuses on expanding fiscal spending to revitalize the local economy, which has been depressed due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, prioritizing COVID-19 prevention measures for a swift return to normal life. It also emphasizes strengthening social safety nets and expanding investments in resident convenience facilities to improve residents' happiness index.
In the economy and employment sector, investment is concentrated at over 89% compared to 2021, supporting small business owners and local commercial districts through projects such as the Gwanak-style Artterior project (500 million KRW), representative commercial district development by living area (216 million KRW), Zero Pay and local currency operation (2.485 billion KRW), Starlight Sinsari commercial district renaissance (633 million KRW), and the establishment of a small and medium enterprise development fund (3.3 billion KRW).
To overcome employment crises, the district plans to create 1,000 jobs through the Gang Gam-chan Gwanak-style livelihood stabilization job project (4.787 billion KRW), and also implement national, city, and district job projects such as Seoul Citizen Safety Jobs and local quarantine jobs, providing quality public jobs tailored to residents' needs.
To actively foster the 'Gwanak S Valley' startup ecosystem, investments will focus on the Gwanak S Valley startup support facility construction (2.068 billion KRW), venture and startup company technology consulting support (100 million KRW), startup ecosystem establishment (280 million KRW), and startup scale-up projects (570 million KRW), building a strong economy to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.
The health and hygiene sector, for proactive COVID-19 response, is allocated 27.1 billion KRW, a 75% increase from this year. This includes COVID-19 vaccination expenses (8.36 billion KRW) and operation of screening clinics (2.761 billion KRW), ensuring thorough health management for residents. Disaster management funds (940 million KRW) will also be used for meticulous quarantine management of multi-use facilities.
The district will focus on creating pedestrian-centered traffic environments and drastically improving inconveniences in living hubs that have caused long-term discomfort to residents. A total of 44.1 billion KRW will be invested in road and traffic sectors, including road maintenance such as old alley repairs (5.364 billion KRW), construction of an underground public parking lot at Sangdo Neighborhood Park (3.01 billion KRW), and expansion of Haengun-dong No.1 public parking lot (3.8 billion KRW).
Additionally, 27.6 billion KRW will be invested in regional development, including support for relocating utility poles causing traffic inconvenience (854 million KRW), expansion and maintenance of sewage facilities (3.537 billion KRW), maintenance of parks, streets, and green spaces (1.794 billion KRW), and ecological river maintenance of Starlight Naerin Stream (1.34 billion KRW), creating a pleasant and safe residential welfare environment.
Furthermore, to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and realize a warm Gwanak that residents can feel, 55.3% of the total budget, 500.9 billion KRW, is allocated to social welfare, strengthening the social safety net. The district will also invest 44.2 billion KRW in cleaning, 22.7 billion KRW in culture and sports, and 15 billion KRW in education, focusing on raising residents' happiness index.
In particular, considering that as of September 2021, single-person households (164,000 households) account for about 60% of total households (276,000 households), the district selected 40 direct support projects for single-person households, investing 7 billion KRW to foster a harmonious Gwanak where diverse families live together happily.
Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, "We will make thorough preparations to ensure that the approved budget for next year is swiftly invested throughout Gwanak-gu to improve quality of life. Although the prolonged COVID-19 situation is difficult for everyone, we will do our best to help residents working on the front lines of crisis response return to normal life quickly."
Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Chang-hyun) was awarded the top institution in welfare administration for 2021. The district received a certificate and an institutional prize of 15 million KRW for excellent performance in the social security benefits inspection sector of the regional welfare project evaluation.
The Welfare Administration Award is given by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to local governments that have achieved outstanding results in welfare promotion through projects suited to local conditions over the past year.
This year, Yongsan was highly evaluated for its efforts in proper management, inspection, and recovery of social security benefits, prevention of fraudulent claims, and inspection of social welfare facilities, contributing to preventing waste of welfare finances and enhancing residents' welfare.
A district official said, "We focused on preventing unintentional fraudulent claims caused by recipients not knowing the information."
Throughout the year, the district established a comprehensive plan to prevent fraudulent claims, conducting guidance and inspections at 38 elderly, child, and disabled welfare facilities and social welfare centers; held five training sessions on preventing fraudulent claims for new recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security System; sent 1,300 prevention notices; conducted 900 non-face-to-face (video) training sessions on the National Basic Livelihood Security System; produced and distributed 4,000 leaflets on understanding medical benefits; and produced and distributed 4,500 welfare calendars.
Seong Chang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "We will continue to prevent leakage of welfare funds through transparent and fair welfare budget execution and financial management, ensuring that residents who truly need help receive benefits carefully."
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