[Seoul District News] Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, Directly Accesses Metaverse Platform on 31st to Host Carbon Neutrality OX Quiz · Wins Grand Prize at ‘2021 Korea Knowledge Innovation Smart City Awards’ Songpa-gu’s Creative Administrative Initiatives... Guro and Namguro Markets Offer Vivid Views of 380 Stores Inside and Out with ‘Traditional Market 360-Degree Virtual Reality (VR) Service’... Gangnam-gu Hosts 2021 Metaverse Gangnam Self-Support Expo... Jung-gu to Exhibit Artworks by Emerging Local and International Artists on Media Boards in Government Building from January 2022
The year-end ceremony will take place in the Ifland (ifland) metaverse space, with an OX quiz displayed on the electronic billboard.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Songpa-gu (District Mayor Park Seong-su), the first autonomous district in Seoul to announce the ‘Songpa-type Green New Deal Carbon Neutral City Plan,’ will hold a metaverse non-face-to-face year-end ceremony on December 31st to reaffirm the importance of carbon neutrality and environmental protection.
District Mayor Park Seong-su and the Environment Department staff will access the metaverse platform ifland via their mobile phones and participate in the ceremony as avatars. The program will center around a carbon neutrality OX quiz directly created by Mayor Park, along with a New Year’s blessing relay and other events.
Songpa-gu previously gained attention by broadcasting the ‘Carbon Neutrality Talk Concert ? Songpa’s Green Future,’ hosted by broadcaster Park Kyung-rim on November 30, 2021, through the metaverse platform.
Mayor Park Seong-su said, “I am glad to meet the hardworking staff of the year through the metaverse,” adding, “Songpa-gu, which won the grand prize at the ‘2021 Korea Knowledge Innovation Smart City Awards,’ will continue to stay close to residents through creative administration incorporating metaverse and other technologies.”
Songpa-gu established the ‘Songpa-type Green New Deal Carbon Neutral City Plan’ in September last year, the first among Seoul’s autonomous districts, with the vision of ‘Songpa, a world-class carbon-neutral city where people and nature coexist.’ The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. The plan actively promotes 40 detailed projects across six major sectors: buildings, transportation, waste, public, green infrastructure, and external cooperation.
“Traditional markets at your fingertips anytime, anywhere!”
Guro-gu (District Mayor Lee Seong) is launching a ‘Traditional Market 360-degree Virtual Reality (VR) Service’ that allows residents to explore traditional markets online.
On the 30th, Guro-gu announced, “To stimulate residents’ interest and attention to traditional markets struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we have prepared a ‘360-degree Virtual Reality (VR) Service’ that enables online experience of traditional markets.”
The ‘360-degree Virtual Reality (VR) Service’ is a virtual space system that vividly reproduces the inside and outside of 380 stores located in Guro and Namguro markets, allowing users to explore every corner of the market by clicking arrows.
Users can visit desired stores by category such as restaurants, food, fashion, beauty, miscellaneous goods, furniture, and daily necessities, and can also enter stores to browse products.
Additionally, store information such as name, location, phone number, business hours, and holidays can be viewed at a glance, and desired products can be purchased through the online shopping mall (Guro Market).
Safety facilities installed in the market, such as fire alarms, automated external defibrillators, fire extinguishers, and parking lot information, can also be checked.
The service is accessible via mobile or PC through the Guro-gu Smart Tourism Map, the district office website, and Seoul’s 3D-based S-MAP. Users can also register points of interest for each store on map portals like Naver Map and KakaoMap for navigation.
Moreover, the traditional market virtual experience service is available at the VR Experience Zone of the Smart Guro Promotion Center at Sindorim Station.
A Guro-gu official said, “We expect this virtual reality service to increase interest in traditional markets and contribute to revitalizing the market economy,” adding, “We will continue to develop various services for traditional markets to help activate them.”
Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) will hold the ‘2021 Metaverse Gangnam Self-Support Expo’ on the metaverse platform Ovis from the 27th to the 31st.
This expo was planned to introduce the Gangnam Regional Self-Support Center and self-support workplaces and to promote the self-support projects conducted over the past 20 years since the center’s establishment.
In the metaverse, 13 exhibition halls including introductions to the regional self-support center and workplaces will operate, showcasing participants’ essays, poems, and artwork contest entries. There will also be hidden quiz hunts, review writing events, and a raffle for the 20th visitor with prizes.
The expo can be accessed by scanning the QR code on the poster or visiting the internet address.
Backgroundsuk, Director of the Social Welfare Department, said, “Since the 7th local government, Gangnam-gu has been the first local government to establish and operate the ‘Gangnam Welfare Baseline’ to ensure appropriate welfare for residents,” adding, “We will continue to lead efforts to create an ‘inclusive welfare city.’”
Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) held the ‘UNICEF Child-Friendly City Certification Proclamation Ceremony’ on the morning of the 30th at the annex auditorium of the district office.
Following the acquisition of UNICEF Child-Friendly City certification, the district held the ceremony to spread awareness of children’s rights in the community and boost residents’ pride.
The event proceeded with a pre-ceremony congratulatory performance, progress report, commemorative and congratulatory speeches, reading of the Children’s Rights Charter, certificate presentation, and vision proclamation.
District Mayor Chae Hyun-il said, “I deeply thank everyone who worked together through communication and cooperation to achieve the child-friendly city certification,” adding, “We will make every effort to implement detailed projects to expand the child-friendly base so that children, the future sprouts, can grow up with more respect and healthily.”
Jung-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced on the 30th that it will operate an online digital art exhibition hall using media devices and SNS within the Jung-gu office building starting from the new year.
This exhibition is part of the district’s support project for artists, designed to provide residents with opportunities to appreciate artworks that are not easily accessible in daily life and to discover and support emerging local artists.
The district introduced the ‘Polstar Art’ service by the cultural and artistic content company SNTNet (CEO Lee Jae-hoon), and plans to exhibit artworks through media boards installed inside the Jung-gu office building. About 30 works by various domestic and international artists, including participants of the Eulji Art Fair, will be showcased monthly. The artworks can also be viewed via the Jung-gu blog and website.
‘Polstar Art’ is a digital art platform service brand that converts artworks into content and provides them to the public similarly to music streaming services, paying royalties to artists.
Jung-gu expects the digital art exhibition project to create a virtuous cycle of ‘discovering local artists,’ ‘registering digital usage rights of artworks,’ and ‘paying royalties.’
District Mayor Seo Yang-ho said, “I hope the digital art exhibition hall will provide a small healing to residents tired from COVID-19,” adding, “We will continue to expand cooperation with the art community so that more residents can access Korean contemporary artworks, which are gaining global recognition.”
Since 2019, Jung-gu has held the ‘Eulji Art Fair,’ selling artworks by local artists at a uniform price of 100,000 KRW, achieving over 70% sales rate for three consecutive years, receiving enthusiastic responses. A Jung-gu Cultural Foundation official in charge of the fair said, “By providing the public with the experience of purchasing artworks at reasonable prices, we are greatly contributing to expanding the art market base.”
Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) signed a tripartite business agreement on the 29th with Samsung Foundation of Culture (CEO Yoo Moon-hyung) and Yongsan Cultural Center (Director Park Sam-gyu) to jointly promote regional cultural development through welfare enhancement and cultural and artistic enjoyment opportunities for Yongsan residents.
The agreement ceremony was held at 10 a.m. in the district mayor’s office with about 10 officials attending, including Yongsan-gu Mayor Seong Jang-hyun, Yongsan Cultural Center Director Park Sam-gyu, Samsung Foundation of Culture CEO Yoo Moon-hyung, and Samsung Welfare Foundation Executive Director Kim Sung-won.
The district promised to collaborate with Yongsan Cultural Center and Samsung Foundation of Culture on mutual cooperation, regular work sharing, discovery of local cultural and artistic resources, and building an organic cooperation system and exchanges.
Samsung Foundation of Culture CEO Yoo Moon-hyung said, “It is very meaningful to cooperate with the autonomous district for the first time in over 20 years since the Leeum Museum of Art was established in Yongsan-gu,” adding, “We will continue productive cooperation with the local community.”
The agreement period is two years, during which projects will be planned through working-level consultations to achieve tangible results.
Yongsan Cultural Center Director Park Sam-gyu said, “Enjoyment of culture and arts is now universal welfare,” adding, “Based on accumulated experience, we will work together to expand cultural enjoyment opportunities for local residents.”
At the same event, 20 million KRW donated by Samsung Foundation employees was delivered to the ‘2021 Warm Winter Project,’ adding significance to the collaboration with the local community.
Yongsan-gu Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, “I thank Samsung Foundation of Culture for their interest and cooperation in the local community,” adding, “Let’s show together that one plus two can become ten or twenty, not just three.”
Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) will increase the frequency of its large premium taxi service ‘Gangdong iMOM Taxi,’ operated for the mobility convenience of pregnant women and families with infants, starting next year.
The ‘Gangdong iMOM Taxi,’ launched in August, has gained popularity among mothers, recording 2,600 rides in just four months.
Accordingly, Gangdong-gu decided to raise the support benefit from 30,000 KRW to 60,000 KRW starting next year to enable more frequent use by pregnant women and families with infants.
New membership registration and applications will be available from 9 a.m. on January 10, 2022, and those who joined in 2021 must reapply. Applicants can download and install the dedicated app, register as members, and receive approval after verifying eligibility. Eligible applicants are pregnant women or families with infants under 24 months registered as residents of Gangdong-gu.
To use the taxi, users request dispatch through the dedicated app. The service is limited to visits and returns for medical purposes to hospitals, clinics, public health centers, pharmacies, postpartum care centers, and cultural centers (limited to health promotion programs), toy libraries, co-parenting rooms, indoor playgrounds, and photo studios. After use, users must register receipts and related proof documents such as class tickets.
Gangdong-gu Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon said, “We are striving to develop diverse and detailed policies to actively address the increasingly serious low birthrate problem,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure the smooth implementation of mobility support projects for pregnant women and families with infants.”
◆Gangdong-gu Personnel
Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Seon-gap) will identify children at risk of food insecurity during school vacations and provide meal support.
The support targets children under 18 from beneficiary, near-poverty, single-parent families, and households with income at 52% of the median income standard.
The district conducted a full survey to identify eligible children by checking income and food insecurity status for new applicants and existing supported children, ultimately deciding to support a total of 1,075 children.
Applications for support are accepted anytime through visits to community service centers or via the Bokjiro website.
Selected children will receive a child meal card (Dream Tree Card) usable at general restaurants and convenience stores in Seoul. The support amount is 7,000 KRW per meal, with daily charging for one to two meals depending on family circumstances.
Additionally, elementary and middle school students among the supported children can choose to receive a lunchbox delivery once a week from the Happy Lunchbox Center.
Children using local children’s centers can receive meal support through group meal facilities within the institutions.
The district will conduct hygiene education and inspections of group meal facilities from December 8 to 31 to ensure healthy meal support for the children.
Inspection targets include 13 local children’s centers and the Happy Lunchbox Center, checking project operation status, hygiene and cleanliness, and hygiene education records. Facilities found lacking will be ordered to correct and re-inspected.
Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Seon-gap said, “We provide meal support for children who may not have proper meals due to economic difficulties during winter vacation,” adding, “We hope many children apply and spend a warm winter.”
Dobong-gu (District Mayor Lee Dong-jin) is conducting the ‘Greenhouse Gas Reduction Pledge to Cut 4 Tons per Person’ campaign with the ‘Dobong-gu 2050 Carbon Neutrality Action Group,’ composed of local environmental organizations, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The campaign began on April 22, 2021, at the ‘Carbon Neutrality Practice District-wide Resolution Rally’ as part of the ‘Dobong-gu Type Carbon Neutrality Practice Campaign.’ Through the campaign, action group members have been collecting pledge signatures from residents at Chang-dong Station, Dobongsan Station, and apartment complexes, encouraging participation via relay campaigns and online platforms such as mobile and SNS.
As of the end of December 2021, about 13,400 people have participated, pledging to reduce approximately 11,700 tons of greenhouse gases.
The campaign involves adhering to at least two of the ‘Top 10 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Practices’ in daily life. The ten items are: ▲installing eco-friendly boilers and maintaining heating/cooling temperatures (summer above 26℃, winter below 20℃) ▲eco-friendly driving and using public transport once a week instead of private cars ▲installing mini solar panels at home ▲cooking only the amount needed (reducing electric rice cooker warming time by 3 hours) ▲using energy-efficient TVs and electric rice cookers ▲using reusable shopping bags instead of disposable plastic bags ▲reducing food waste by 20% ▲unplugging unused TVs, washing machines, rice cookers, microwaves, and humidifiers ▲separating recyclable glass bottles and cans ▲joining eco-mileage programs and using eco-friendly products.
Reducing 4 tons of greenhouse gases is not as difficult as it seems. For a single-person household living in an apartment, installing one 325W veranda-type mini solar panel is sufficient. For those driving a 2000cc gasoline car, reducing monthly driving by 60 km through public transport, eco-driving, and mileage programs helps. Households using city gas (LNG) can save about 10% monthly by installing eco-friendly boilers or maintaining appropriate heating temperatures.
Dobong-gu held the ‘2050 Carbon Neutrality Practice District-wide Resolution Rally’ on Earth Day, April 22, distributing the ‘Carbon Neutrality Practice Manual’ to the Dobong-gu Council and civic groups. In July, 4,500 copies of the manual titled ‘Green Life, I Draw Green Dobong!’ were produced and distributed locally and nationwide.
In November, Dobong-gu was the only city in Korea to receive the highest A grade among 965 cities worldwide in the ‘2021 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP),’ and in December, it won the Minister of Environment Award at the ‘2021 Carbon Neutrality Contest,’ achieving excellent results in climate and energy policy.
Dobong-gu Mayor Lee Dong-jin said, “Carbon neutrality cannot be achieved by government efforts alone; positive awareness and active efforts from residents are essential. We will continue intensive promotion to encourage more people to join the Dobong-gu 4-ton per person greenhouse gas reduction campaign.”
◆Dobong-gu Personnel
Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Park Gyeom-su) published the newsletter ‘Love and Hope Gangbuk Sharing Center,’ containing volunteer activity cases and useful information.
This newsletter vividly compiles the sweat and efforts of volunteers. It is designed with rich content so that anyone can easily access volunteer activity news.
The newsletter is 23 pages long and includes information on ▲Volunteer Center education programs, ▲Volunteer groups and camps introduction, ▲Outstanding volunteer award recipients, ▲Best field experience essays, ▲Field sketches, and ▲How to use the 1365 Volunteer Portal.
Among them, the ‘Low Carbon Lifestyle Practice Non-face-to-face Volunteer Plogging’ introduced volunteer activities that anyone can safely participate in non-face-to-face amid the COVID-19 situation this year. It also featured the activities of volunteer groups formed in each neighborhood, such as the ‘Gangbuk-gu Volunteer Camp Practicing Love,’ and introduced groups like the ‘Uicheon Guardians Sangnok Volunteer Group’ and ‘Beautiful Journey of Samgaksan.’
The district expects that publishing this newsletter will contribute to spreading the atmosphere of volunteer participation by reflecting on the vibrant and diverse activities of volunteers. A total of 1,500 copies will be distributed to community service centers, welfare facilities, and volunteer centers in other autonomous districts.
Gangbuk-gu Mayor Park Gyeom-su said, “I believe publishing the newsletter will be a great foundation for raising interest in volunteering and awareness of volunteer culture,” adding, “We will continue to include vivid activities of volunteers and groups in the newsletter to practice neighborly love and promote volunteer activation.”
◆Gangbuk-gu Personnel
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