Mapo Central Library Children's Materials Room Remodeling Expands Collection by 10,000 Books

[Seoul District News] Mapo-gu Celebrates Reopening on 8th with Bookmaking, Author Meetings, and Exhibitions... Seongdong-gu Operates Walking School Bus During Vacation to Assist Commuting... Dongdaemun-gu Remodels Resident Facility in Dapsimni 1-dong Apartment Complex, Creating 4th Kiwoom Center... Dongjak-gu Recruiting Teachers for 'Village is School' Program... Gangdong-gu Installs Easy Reporting Boxes for Suspected Child Abuse in 9 Elementary Schools... Dobong-gu Recruiting Participants for '2022 Youth Participation Support Project'

Mapo Central Library Children's Materials Room

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) will hold a commemorative event on the 8th to announce the completion of the expansion and remodeling of the children's materials room at Mapo Central Library.

The construction, which started in November last year and was completed in January this year, expanded the children's materials room to about 1,200㎡, approximately 1.7 times larger than before. Additionally, more than 10,000 children's books covering various fields from infants to elementary school students, including curriculum-linked books and English originals, were added.

The expanded space includes reading tables with lighting for upper-grade students, club rooms for reading and assignments, and small exhibition rooms for displays and hands-on experiences. As a result, the central library is expected to establish itself as a place where children can develop literacy skills.

To celebrate the reopening of the children's materials room, the central library has prepared various events.

On February 8th, in the 'Children's Materials Room Meeting Room,' an event called 'Making My Own Pop-up Book' will be held for 10 first- and second-grade elementary school students. This event will be conducted as a talent donation by Choi Mi-jung, a reading and media specialist instructor.

On the same day, in the 'Children's Materials Room Nurimaru,' there will be a meeting with picture book author Seo Hyun, who won the 58th Korea Publishing Culture Award. This meeting will cover Seo Hyun's latest works 'Horai' and 'Horai Horai,' including stories about their creation, and is targeted at children aged 10 and above as well as 20 adults.

Seo Hyun's works can be viewed from February 8th to April 24th in the 'Children's Materials Room Pride Room' through the exhibition 'Horai's Library Raid.' This exhibition also includes a 'Horai Mobile Making' experience.

Meanwhile, the existing IT experience room, which was remodeled together with the children's materials room, will be transformed into 'MAMAPL (Mapo Making & Playing Place),' operating permanent and specialized programs using digital devices starting March 22nd.

For more details, please refer to the Mapo Central Library website or contact the library operations team.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "I hope the open space library outside of school becomes a place where children can find dreams and hope," adding, "We will continue to expand public library utilization projects to realize the happiness of residents."

Seongdong-gu Walking School Bus Traffic Safety Instructors accompany children safely on their way to and from school.

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is expanding the operation of the 'Walking School Bus' project until the school vacation period, ensuring safe school routes 365 days a year.

The district plans to extend the 'Walking School Bus,' which was only operated during the semester, to cover the vacation period for children using care classrooms, continuing operation through this winter vacation and the upcoming spring vacation to completely eliminate gaps in traffic safety care.

The 'Walking School Bus,' which accompanies children on their way to and from school, is a traffic safety guidance program designed to support safe commuting and promote proper walking habits for lower-grade elementary students (grades 1-3). A total of 81 traffic safety instructors hired through a public recruitment process are responsible for the commuting of about 850 children across 40 routes.

Additionally, traffic safety instructors lead groups of 3 to 8 children per route according to commuting times and share information via SNS, allowing parents to receive real-time updates on their children's commuting status.

Currently, Seongdong-gu operates the Walking School Bus project with the largest workforce and budget among Seoul's autonomous districts. The district is also promoting smart technology policies such as the 'Seongdong-type Smart Crosswalk' and 'Smart Shelter,' which were first introduced nationwide, and plans to continue active efforts to ensure children's pedestrian safety.

A parent using the Walking School Bus said, "It would have been really difficult without the Walking School Bus," and added, "I am proud to live in Seongdong-gu." They also mentioned, "There were many changes in commuting due to COVID-19, but the district always promptly notified and responded, and the commuting alert service (KakaoTalk) provides reassurance."

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, "As the largest scale in Seoul, we will thoroughly inspect routes and stops to operate the Walking School Bus project more effectively and promptly reflect the valuable opinions of parents and instructors."

Branch 4 Our Neighborhood Care Center

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has remodeled the community facility within the Midcounty Apartment complex in Dapsimni 1-dong into the 4th branch of Our Neighborhood Care Center and has begun full-scale operation.

Our Neighborhood Care Center has been installed and operated by Dongdaemun-gu since 2019 to minimize blind spots in childcare. Care teachers reside on-site to provide various childcare services including child protection, homework assistance, reading, and play.

In particular, the 4th branch, which opened on the 20th of last month, is located within the apartment complex, securing safety and accessibility for children and providing efficient gap childcare.

The center offers child-led content composed of common programs such as daily homework, reading guidance, and physical activities, as well as specialized activities including literary arts, science, and experiential activities, supporting children's autonomy.

The usage fee during the semester at Our Neighborhood Care Center is about 50,000 KRW per month, including snacks. Detailed information such as reservation applications can be found on the Our Neighborhood Care portal.

The district plans to install new care centers focusing on idle spaces within apartment complexes and Dongdaemun-gu office life SOC complex facilities to provide seamless elementary childcare services.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, "I hope the 4th branch of Our Neighborhood Care Center becomes a comfortable resting place like a home for the growing children of Dongdaemun-gu and a public childcare space where guardians can entrust their children with peace of mind," adding, "We will continue to establish Our Neighborhood Care Centers and seek diverse and practical support measures to make Dongdaemun-gu a great place to raise children."

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) is recruiting operators for the 'Village is School' project to provide various creative experience-oriented educational content to children and youth in the area.

'Village is School' is one of the Dongjak Innovation Education District projects in 2022, designed to strengthen education and childcare functions by utilizing local educational resources and to provide creative experience-oriented educational content with rest and play.

The recruitment target is village education organizations or individuals who possess educational content differentiated from existing after-school classes and can conduct classes for children and youth. Each organization (or individual) can apply for one content, and 1.5 million KRW will be supported per content.

The application fields include creative convergence content where children and youth can experience various village education with rest and play, such as ▲culture and arts ▲play/sports ▲career ▲psychological/emotional/personality ▲4th industry ▲humanities/exploration.

About 25 contents will be selected through a first document review and a second certification review committee. The operation period is from March 21 to the end of August, and classes will be opened after recruiting students and meeting minimum numbers depending on the COVID-19 situation.

The application period is until February 11, and applications can be submitted by email (song8902@dongjak.go.kr) with the business application form and plan. For more details, contact the Education Policy Division.

Organizations (or individuals) who have difficulty securing individual class locations can use the 'Noryangjin Village School' (Jangseungbaegi-ro 19-gil 50), the dedicated space for 'Village is School,' or receive support to use idle spaces such as small libraries (Village e-space) for village education.

Additionally, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, measures such as pre-class instructor testing, adjusting the number of students, producing class kits, and insurance enrollment to prepare for accidents during classes will be implemented to operate safe and sustainable village schools.

Meanwhile, last year, the district operated 42 village schools where 335 students experienced various programs such as EQ cultivation and play-learning combined classes, contributing to the learning and growth of children and youth.

Jung Jong-rok, head of the Education Policy Division, said, "We will actively strive to realize safe childcare where students can enjoy learning in the village and parents can entrust their children with peace of mind."

Child abuse is harder to detect at younger ages unless reported by those around the child. Many socially highlighted child abuse cases tend to occur among young infants and toddlers.

Accordingly, Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) has installed the child abuse reporting box 'Yellow Talk' to allow anyone in the community to easily report anonymously.

'Yellow Talk' is a compound word of 'Yellow,' symbolizing safety, and 'Talk,' meaning conversation. Reporting boxes have been installed at the front or back gates of nine elementary schools in the area for easy resident access, enabling anyone to report suspected child abuse easily.

When a suspected child abuse case is received through 'Yellow Talk,' the resident support group regularly checks the reports and forwards them to the district's child protection team. Depending on the content, cases are classified as counseling or suspected abuse. Counseling cases are matched with child protection professionals for counseling, while suspected abuse cases undergo investigation and child protection measures.

Last year alone, 238 child abuse cases were reported to the district, of which 95 were confirmed as child abuse cases, receiving emergency measures and specialized case management support.

Additionally, the district was recognized for its efforts in establishing a public response system for child abuse and was selected as an excellent district by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, receiving a ministerial award.

The district did not stop there and held a joint meeting of all departments on the 4th to devise various child abuse countermeasures, aiming to prevent child abuse in advance and strengthen the prevention and response system by linking multifaceted services and resources necessary for children and families.

Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, "Child abuse is difficult to detect early without community interest and attention, so cooperation and reporting from those around are very important," adding, "We will do our best to strengthen the child abuse prevention and response system through close cooperation not only among all district departments but also with related local organizations."

Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) is recruiting participants for the '2022 Youth Participation Support Project' from January 24 to February 23.

Now in its sixth year, the 'Youth Participation Support Project' supports the realization of projects containing fresh ideas from youth, helping local youth participate in society and strengthening their foundation for independence and capabilities.

This project is open to anyone aged 19 to 39 residing or active in Dobong-gu as of the announcement date. Interested participants can download the application form from the district website, fill it out, and submit it via email (yyw9324@dobong.go.kr) or visit the Dobong-gu Education Support Division in person.

Support areas include ▲discovering and revitalizing local-based youth culture ▲forming and activating healthy Dobong youth communities ▲youth-led creative job creation (new types of jobs) activities ▲and other innovative project activities linked to local issues with diverse and free themes.

Starting this year, the eligibility criteria have changed from 'groups of three or more youth' to include 'youth groups (organizations) and individuals,' allowing individual participation.

The district will select teams through document and interview evaluations, sign agreements, and provide project execution funds ranging from 3 million to 6 million KRW per team. Additionally, 1:1 consulting and networking opportunities among teams will be supported. More details can be found on the Dobong-gu website under the 'Announcements/Budget' and 'Notices' sections.

Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, "I believe this is a great opportunity for Dobong youth to breathe with the community based on fresh and brilliant ideas. I hope many talented youth participate."