[Seoul District News] Illuminating the Shinjeonggyo to Omokgyo Section (470m) with Tree Landscape Lighting Transforms Winter Nights into Beautiful Walking Paths and Photo Zones; Linked with Nearby Rose Theme Park's 'Rose Tunnel Lighting' and Shinjeong Underpass's 'Lotus Leaf Stepping Stones'... Yeongdeungpo-gu Operates Dog Playground Near Omokgyo on Anyangcheon... Gwanak-gu Prioritizes Pedestrian Safety by Improving Residential Roads Taken Over by Cars... Gangdong-gu Family Counseling Center Handled Over 2,300 Cases Last Year... Dongdaemun-gu Provides Up to 20 Million KRW Support per Apartment Complex... Jongno-gu, Village
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) has attracted attention by installing nighttime landscape lighting that decorates the winter nights along the Anyangcheon riverside walking trail.
The 470m section from Sinjeonggyo to Omokgyo Bridge along Anyangcheon, where string lights have been installed, is a representative walking course in Yangcheon-gu with a high flow of people. The district planned this nighttime landscape lighting installation along Anyangcheon to deliver a bright and radiant message of hope to many people, inspired by this fact.
The previously monotonous 470m walking trail has been transformed into a photo zone boasting scenery that matches the winter mood, featuring over 1,100 light bulbs and trees dressed in illuminated outfits. In particular, the ‘Rose Tunnel Lighting’ created in the nearby Rose Theme Garden and the ‘Lotus Leaf Stepping Stones’ at Sinjeong Underpass complete the romantic winter nightscape of Anyangcheon.
The district plans to operate the nighttime lighting section along the Anyangcheon riverside walking trail until the end of March. The lights will be turned on daily from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., offering beautiful memories to residents visiting Anyangcheon.
Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “The festival of lights, ‘YBNF (Yangcheon Bicenara Festival),’ which started for the first time at Yangcheon Park as a representative winter park theme event, is now newly unfolding along the Anyangcheon walking trail.” He added, “I hope the riverside landscape lighting that gifts the romance of winter nights will become a landmark representing Anyangcheon in the future.”
According to Statistics Korea, about 15% of all households in the country, approximately 3.12 million households, are raising companion animals. As the number of households raising companion animals steadily increases, the demand for spaces where animals and people can enjoy together is also growing.
In response, Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) announced that it has created the ‘Anyangcheon Dog Playground’ to provide a healthy play space for companion animals and their owners and to contribute to establishing a proper companion animal culture. The playground operates year-round without holidays.
The ‘Anyangcheon Dog Playground,’ which began operation in 2020, has been visited by about 1,900 dogs as of the end of last year. Visitors have responded positively as they can enjoy walking along Anyangcheon with their dogs and use the play facilities.
The ‘Anyangcheon Dog Playground’ is located between Yeongrong Ioksai 3 Playground and Omokgyo Bridge (52 Mullae-dong 6-ga). It is a resting area for small and medium-sized dogs, with a 116㎡ space equipped with various play and training facilities such as tug-of-war, climbing equipment, and a cloud bridge.
For safety, fences are installed around the playground, and benches are provided on the passageway directly opposite the playground so that facility users and passersby can rest comfortably.
The dog playground operates daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is free to use. To use the facility, dogs must be registered, and owners must be 13 years or older. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult guardian.
Additionally, dogs must wear leashes when entering and exiting, and owners must carry waste bags. Owners should be cautious to prevent conflicts between dogs. Dangerous dogs registered under the Animal Protection Act, dogs with diseases, and large dogs over 40cm in height are not allowed entry.
For detailed information about using the Anyangcheon Dog Playground, contact the Job and Economy Division of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office.
Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “I hope everyone practices considerate and mature pet etiquette and spends healing time with their dogs.” He added, “We will do our best to spread a proper companion animal culture where animals, people, owners, and non-owners can all coexist.”
Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) announced that it has improved the Cheongnyong-gil area into a convenient and safe pedestrian-centered road.
Cheongnyong-gil had caused traffic congestion and posed inconvenience and danger to pedestrians due to through traffic from outside vehicles, leading residents to demand traffic improvements.
More than 760 outside vehicles per hour entered the area to avoid traffic jams on nearby major roads such as Ssukgogae-ro, causing severe congestion. Additionally, exhaust fumes from vehicle queues in front of shops made it impossible to open shop doors.
In response, the district prepared improvement plans focusing on vehicle dispersion and pedestrian safety, considering that this road is a residential street rather than a wide road emphasizing vehicle flow, based on on-site consultations by the mayor and two rounds of resident opinion surveys last year.
The district directly visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which was concerned about traffic congestion on Nambu Sunhwan-ro, and obtained approval for designating one-way traffic on Cheongnyong-gil to disperse vehicle traffic through multiple on-site inspections and continuous consultations.
The road now secures only the minimum lane width (3m) in the center, with sidewalks of 1.5 to 2 meters or more installed on both sides so pedestrians can walk safely.
Additionally, vehicles over 5 tons are banned from passing to prevent traffic congestion, and the vehicle speed limit is set to 30 km/h to prevent traffic accidents and enhance pedestrian safety.
One month after implementation, the vehicle traffic volume has decreased noticeably to about 300 vehicles per hour, less than half of before, and the road has become convenient and safe for pedestrians, showing visible effects.
Residents commented, “Before the sidewalk was installed, we had to move amid vehicle queues with inconvenience and danger, but now we can walk comfortably and safely without worrying about cars.”
A district official said, “Residential streets should prioritize pedestrian safety and convenience over vehicle traffic.” He added, “We will continue to discover and implement traffic improvement measures suitable for the area’s characteristics to create a safe walking environment for everyone.”
As the COVID-19 situation has prolonged recently, the time spent at home has increased, and stress has intensified due to difficulties such as livelihood issues, showing an increase in domestic violence. Moreover, cases where victims of domestic violence must stay with perpetrators at home have increased, making it difficult for victims to report abuse or receive appropriate help.
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) has been operating a Family Counseling Center for four years to find solutions to frequent small and large problems occurring within families.
Especially, to accommodate clients reluctant to meet face-to-face, the center has operated a safe counseling room capable of non-face-to-face counseling since 2020, and in 2021 alone, it conducted 2,316 domestic violence counseling cases.
The ‘Gangdong-gu Family Counseling Center’ provides services for violence prevention and victim protection, including ▲domestic violence report reception and counseling ▲victim protection and referral to protection facilities ▲public relations projects for domestic violence prevention and deterrence. It also offers programs to help recovery into healthy families, such as ▲treatment programs for victims and perpetrators ▲domestic violence prevention education for students and residents ▲healing programs for adult children.
The center operates on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free for all residents.
A district official said, “Domestic violence causes serious harm not only to victims but to all family members. We will strive to provide multifaceted support such as protection and counseling services so that residents facing difficulties with domestic violence, marital, or family issues can build healthy family communities.”
The Gangdong-gu Family Counseling Center is located on the 2nd floor at 4, Yangjaedaero 138-gil.
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is calling for applications for the 2022 ‘Learning Naruteo (Neighborhood Learning Center)’ operation programs to discover and provide high-quality programs for lifelong education activation.
‘Learning Naruteo (Neighborhood Learning Center)’ is a lifelong education project that supports district residents’ neighborhood-level lifelong learning programs and learning community activities by linking idle spaces within the region. Gwangjin-gu is conducting the program call to ensure stable operation and qualitative improvement of Learning Naruteo and to satisfy residents’ lifelong learning needs.
The application period is from the 24th to the 28th of this month. The fields are divided into six categories: ▲culture and arts ▲academic supplementation ▲basic literacy ▲vocational skills ▲humanities and general knowledge ▲citizen participation. Any instructor interested in Gwangjin-gu Learning Naruteo can participate, and each instructor can apply for up to three programs.
Applications must be submitted by completing the lecture application form, plan, self-introduction, and personal information consent form and sending them via email to the person in charge. Forms can be downloaded from the Gwangjin-gu lifelong learning portal site. For details, contact the Education Support Division of Gwangjin-gu Office.
Gwangjin-gu will distribute the submitted programs to 13 Learning Naruteo locations, conduct demand surveys, and select five programs per location that fit the demand and characteristics of each neighborhood. The selection announcement will be individually notified to selected applicants on February 10.
Since its operation began in 2018, Learning Naruteo has provided various learning opportunities and encouraged lifelong learning participation among residents. Last year, 73 programs such as ‘Life Shot Smartphone Camera Class’ and 21 learning-practice projects like ‘Small Actions to Protect the Earth? Making Eco-friendly Laundry Detergent’ were conducted, receiving great responses from residents.
Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “The operation of neighborhood-level Learning Naruteo not only gives everyone the joy of learning but also helps build community in the local society.” He added, “We will continue to work hard to foster and spread a lifelong learning culture.”
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is promoting the ‘2022 Apartment Support Project,’ which provides partial financial support for maintenance and repair of old common facilities in apartment complexes. This year, 600 million KRW will be invested to support many apartment complexes.
The support targets, according to the ‘Seoul Metropolitan City Dongdaemun-gu Apartment Management Support Ordinance,’ include ▲CCTV maintenance ▲outdoor sewage repair and dredging ▲children’s playground repair and landscaping facilities ▲main road asphalt work, among others.
Especially this year, the district plans to focus support on ▲improvements to old electrical and fire facilities for power outage preparedness ▲improvements to working conditions for security workers ▲eco-friendly facilities such as energy-saving and water-saving devices ▲automatic opening and closing devices for outdoor emergency doors.
The support limit is up to 20 million KRW per apartment complex. Priority will be given to disaster prevention facilities directly affecting residents’ safety, small and old apartment complexes with poor finances and residential environments, and facilities open to nearby residents.
Apartments wishing to participate must obtain approval from the residents’ representative meeting and submit the application and related documents to the Housing Division of Dongdaemun-gu Office by February 18, either in person or by registered mail.
Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “We will do our best to support maintenance of common facilities and improvement of disaster safety facilities to create a pleasant and safe residential environment in apartment complexes.” For detailed information about the apartment support project, contact the Housing Division of Dongdaemun-gu Office.
Jongno-gu is actively promoting the parking sharing project to alleviate local parking difficulties. Using exterior advertising boards on village buses that residents frequently encounter in daily life, the district is effectively publicizing the ‘Resident Priority Parking Lot and Attached Parking Lot Sharing Project’ and encouraging participation.
Accordingly, nine village buses have been outfitted with slogans and project details such as ‘Resident Priority Parking Lot Sharing & Benefits’ and ‘Building Attached Parking Lot Opening & Benefits.’
‘Resident Priority Parking Lot Sharing’ is a system where holders of on-street resident priority parking spaces register their parking spaces during unused times and apply for shared parking. Anyone can check available parking areas and usage fees in real time via the mobile app (Everyone’s Parking Lot) and use the spaces. The fee is 600 KRW per 30 minutes.
Sharers accumulate earnings as points according to the distribution rate, which can be used later for shared parking or exchanged for mobile gift certificates. Also, if a holder shares a parking space for more than 600 hours, they receive priority and bonus points when applying for resident priority parking next time.
‘Attached Parking Lot Opening Sharing’ is a project to open and share surplus spaces in attached parking lots of residential buildings in the area.
If a building owner applies to open at least five parking spaces for a minimum of two years, an agreement is made through consultation and review. In this case, up to 20 million KRW can be supported for parking lot facility improvements.
Since introducing the ‘Sharing Parking System (Attached Parking Lot Opening)’ in 2012, Jongno-gu has opened a total of 309 spaces across 15 locations, starting with Korea National Open University and collaborating with local public institutions, schools, and religious facilities.
A district official said, “We will continue to raise awareness of the parking sharing project and strive to spread the sharing culture. We hope many people who share the will to alleviate parking difficulties will participate.”
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