Yangcheon-gu Supports 260 Daycare Centers with 'Transparent Masks'... Gwanak Innovation Education District Advances 30 Detailed Projects

[Seoul District News] Yangcheon-gu Supports 21,400 Transparent Masks to 260 Daycare Centers for Language Development of Growing Infants and Toddlers; Dongdaemun-gu Provides Free Rapid Antigen Test Kits for COVID-19 Vulnerable Groups; Gwanak-gu Strengthens Public-Private-Academic Cooperation for Sustainable Village Education; Seocho-gu Promotes Job Projects Utilizing Careers of Retirees Aged 50-60; Guro-gu Veterans Affairs...

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) will support transparent masks to 260 daycare centers in the area to help language development in infants and toddlers.

The district decided to provide transparent masks after concerns were raised on-site that infants and toddlers might experience delayed language acquisition because childcare teachers wore regular masks during classes to prevent infection amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the district will supply a total of 21,400 transparent masks, 20 per person, to 260 daycare centers in the area. The masks delivered will be used by childcare teachers in infant and special needs classes during lessons.

The transparent masks, which have a transparent film in the middle, allow children to easily see the mouth shapes and facial expressions of childcare teachers, which is expected to greatly improve smooth language acquisition as well as emotional empathy and communication skills.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “By supporting transparent masks to childcare teachers responsible for infants and toddlers during the critical period of vocabulary development, we aim to help improve children's language skills and sociality.” He added, “We will continue to listen to the difficulties faced in childcare settings and provide necessary support so that quality childcare services can be offered to our children.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) will provide free rapid antigen test kits, ranging from 2 to 12 kits per person, to a total of 34,201 vulnerable individuals including children, elderly, disabled persons using daycare centers and social welfare facilities, basic livelihood security recipients, and pregnant women who have low immunity and are easily exposed to infection risks in group living environments.

Since February 28, the district has started distributing rapid antigen test kits to daycare centers for infants and toddlers and staff using daycare centers, and from March 18, rapid antigen test kits will be distributed to pregnant women through local community service centers.

Pregnant women wishing to receive the kits can visit their local community service center with their ID card, pregnancy confirmation certificate, and maternity handbook to receive support. Spouses, direct ascendants, and siblings (with additional verification such as family relation certificates) can also receive kits on their behalf.

Additionally, from the third week of March, rapid antigen test kits will be distributed to users of elderly social welfare facilities, facilities for the disabled, child welfare facilities, and homeless shelters.

Recipients such as livelihood security recipients, near-poverty groups, and severely disabled persons will receive kits through their local community service centers starting from the end of March, considering accessibility.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “We are proactively supporting vulnerable groups such as children and residents of elderly care facilities to detect infections early and prevent the spread, thereby protecting these individuals.” He added, “We will also provide rapid support to pregnant women, livelihood security recipients, and near-poverty groups to do our best to protect residents from COVID-19 infection.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is set to fully launch the ‘2022 Gwanak Innovation Education District’ project.

The Gwanak Innovation Education District project is a collaborative effort among the public, private, and academic sectors to help children and youth grow as agents of life in schools and communities, realizing a school-community education ecosystem.

Since being designated as a Seoul-type Innovation Education District in 2015, the district has successfully operated the innovation education district, leading positive changes in an educational ecosystem where learning and rest coexist.

For 2022, the Gwanak Innovation Education District project will invest a total of 1.484 billion KRW (575 million KRW from the district, 490 million KRW from the city, and 500 million KRW from the education office) to create an educational city where youth, schools, and communities nurture dreams. The project will focus on 30 initiatives across four areas: ▲establishing an organic public-private-academic governance system ▲school curricula in collaboration with the community ▲strengthening support systems for community activities ▲supporting children and youth self-governance activities.

Key projects include expanding support for youth experiencing emotional and psychological anxiety due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic through ‘self-esteem enhancement psychological and emotional support’ and ‘reading club support’ under the ‘school curriculum with the community’ area.

Under ‘strengthening community activity support systems,’ new initiatives such as ‘youth community exploration’ and ‘support for climate crisis response video production’ will stimulate youth imagination through diverse experiential learning and foster interest in the local community and environment.

Additionally, efforts will be made to strengthen children and youth self-governance capabilities through projects such as ‘production of community exploration educational videos linked to localized teaching materials,’ ‘environmental ecology education with the community,’ ‘support for youth clubs,’ and ‘operation of youth councils.’

The district will also operate ‘Todak Todak Community School,’ which discovers human and material resources in the community and links and supports schools and out-of-school community schools, as well as the ‘Education Guardian System,’ an educational support program for multicultural families.

Based on the consensus and voluntary participation formed over seven years, the district will strive to enhance the capabilities and networks of various educational stakeholders and actively promote projects reflecting local characteristics and community needs to establish a sustainable community education system.

A district official said, “It is no exaggeration to say that the driving force behind the district’s growth lies in the education of our future, the children.” He added, “We will continue to do our best to build a community education ecosystem suitable for the region through strengthening public-private-academic cooperation.”

Smart Senior IT Supporters

Seocho-gu announced that its ‘Experienced Senior Career Job Project,’ which provides jobs by utilizing the professional experience of retired middle-aged individuals aged 50 to under 70, is receiving positive responses from participants.

Started in February, this project was selected last year through a public contest by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It operates three projects: ▲Bakery Workshop Operation ▲Smart Senior IT Supporters ▲Seoripul Home Avengers, providing jobs to 18 people.

First, the most popular ‘Bakery Workshop Operation’ project allows those with qualifications as confectionery and bakery technicians or related work experience to utilize their expertise to run bakery education programs both online and offline. Programs range from home baking hobby classes to senior confectionery and bakery certification courses.

The ‘Smart Senior IT Supporters’ project dispatches instructors with experience and certifications in IT and informatization to community welfare facilities such as Seocho-gu IT Education Center and Seocho 50 Plus Center. They provide diverse IT education including smartphone usage, kiosk training, and robot experiences for elderly people who are information disadvantaged.

The ‘Seoripul Home Avengers’ project is operated by professionals with experience in facility management fields such as housing managers, wallpaper technicians, and plumbing technicians, targeting elderly living alone in vulnerable housing conditions. They provide support such as replacing household consumables like light bulbs and inspecting various facilities including water supply systems, diagnosing areas needing residential improvement, and offering one-stop repair services.

The ‘Smart Senior IT Supporters’ and ‘Seoripul Home Avengers’ projects are currently recruiting participants. Eligibility requires experience and qualifications related to IT education and informatization or residential environment improvement. For more details, refer to the Seocho 50 Plus Center website.

The district expects this project not only to provide new jobs for middle-aged individuals with career interruptions but also to contribute to expanding social welfare services in the community by offering various needed social services.

Lee Jung-mi, Director of the Senior Happiness Division, said, “I hope the Experienced Senior Career Job Project will create new jobs and become a win-win project that provides high-quality community services based on the diverse expertise and experience accumulated by middle-aged individuals.”

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Roh Hyun-song) has embarked on nurturing talents who will lead the future of the region.

The district announced that it will select and support ‘2022 First Half Gangseo-gu Scholarship Foundation (Chairman Song Jin-su) Scholars.’

The purpose is to help students grow into outstanding talents who contribute to the local community through scholarship support.

The number of selected students is 57 in total, including 25 high school students and 32 university students. The district will select scholars in four categories: ▲Community Unity Scholarship ▲Exemplary Scholarship ▲Special Talent Scholarship ▲Small Amount Scholarship.

The Community Unity Scholarship is a four-year scholarship with support up to 3.5 million KRW per semester. Eligible applicants are first-year students enrolled in domestic four-year universities this year who had excellent academic performance throughout their third year of high school.

The Exemplary Scholarship targets students with excellent academic performance in the past year, and the Special Talent Scholarship is for students who have won outstanding awards in nationwide or higher-level competitions in mathematics, science, sports, culture and arts, or technical fields. High school students receive 1 million KRW, and university students up to 2 million KRW.

The Small Amount Scholarship targets university students who have taken out general repayment student loans from the Korea Student Aid Foundation but do not receive interest support, providing 200,000 KRW.

Applications are open to high school and university students (including new students in 2022) who have continuously resided in Gangseo-gu for more than one year as of the announcement date (February 21, 2022). High school students must apply with a recommendation from their school principal, and university students (except for the Small Amount Scholarship) must apply with a recommendation from their local community leader.

Students who receive full tuition or scholarships from the government, local governments, other foundations, or schools, or who are enrolled in credit bank systems, Korea National Open University, or cyber (distance) universities located outside Gangseo-gu are excluded.

The application period is from February 21 to April 8. Applicants can submit application forms and related documents in person or by mail to the Gangseo-gu Scholarship Foundation office.

Required documents include ▲Scholarship application form ▲Consent form for personal information provision ▲Health insurance payment confirmation and eligibility certificate ▲Resident registration abstract ▲Certificate of enrollment, etc. For Community Unity, Exemplary, and Special Talent Scholarships, additional documents such as ▲Scholar recommendation letter (school principal or local community leader) ▲Self-introduction letter ▲Academic transcript ▲Resident registration copy ▲Family relation certificate ▲Copy of lease contract ▲Tuition payment receipt ▲Documents proving special talents (only for Special Talent Scholarship) are required. For the Small Amount Scholarship, loan proof documents must be additionally submitted. All documents must be issued after the announcement date.

Detailed information and application forms can be found on the Gangseo-gu Scholarship Foundation website under notices.

The district will select a total of 57 scholars through a scholarship selection committee in May, announce the results on the scholarship foundation website, and notify individuals separately.

A district official said, “We hope this scholarship support will allow students to focus on their studies without financial worries.” He added, “We will continue to actively support students, the future leaders, to grow into outstanding talents.”

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) has produced a leaflet containing veterans’ policies.

The district announced on the 17th, “To honor those who contributed to the country and provide information on veterans support policies, we have recently completed producing the leaflet.”

The leaflet is a comprehensive guide on veterans’ policies, including eligible recipients, support contents, application methods, and the status of veterans halls and organizations.

Eligible veterans include independent activists, national veterans, war veterans, special mission veterans, May 18 Democratic Movement merit recipients, and those diagnosed with Agent Orange-related diseases (graded). One senior family member holding a survivor certificate is also included.

This year, the veterans’ honor allowance increased from 30,000 KRW to 50,000 KRW, and funeral services (funeral hall locations) expanded from Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi areas to nationwide.

Last year, the district also started a funeral support project for veterans. It provides bereaved families of veterans with 27 types of funeral convenience items such as toiletries, towels, socks, condolence money bags, and a Guro-gu condolence flag. Consulting services by funeral directors from professional funeral companies are also provided.

The district plans to distribute a total of 7,500 copies to veterans, veterans organizations, and local community centers.

A Guro-gu official said, “We hope people check the updated veterans policies through the leaflet and receive support.” He added, “We will continue to do our best to honor and support veterans.”

Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) announced that it will continue the ‘Care SOS Center’ project this year to eliminate blind spots in care for elderly people, disabled persons, and middle-aged individuals aged 50 and over who need care.

The Care SOS Center is available to elderly, disabled, and middle-aged individuals aged 50 and over who have difficulty with daily life due to sudden illness or accidents. Anyone can apply at the Care SOS Center installed in each neighborhood. Basic livelihood security recipients, legally defined near-poverty groups, and those with income below 85% of the median income are supported free of charge, while other residents can use the service by paying a self-pay fee.

The district started the Care SOS Center project in August 2020 and provided over 4,300 services last year.

The district offers customized services including five major care (fee-based) services: temporary home care, short-term facility care, accompaniment support, residential convenience, and meal support; and five major mid- to long-term (non-fee-based) care linkage services: safety checks, health support, care system information, case management, and emergency support.

This year, the main changes in Care SOS services include raising the per-person usage limit by 20,000 KRW to 1.6 million KRW, increasing the material cost for residential convenience services from 100,000 KRW to 150,000 KRW, and raising the meal support service fee from 7,800 KRW to 8,400 KRW.

Additionally, the district recently provided meal support services to COVID-19 home treatment patients, establishing a care system responsive to the pandemic crisis.

Since September last year, laundry services (residential convenience) have been implemented, offering washing, drying, collection, and delivery services for large laundry items such as bedding and curtains that are difficult to wash at home, thereby expanding the range of services.

Lee Jung-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “We hope residents in need receive help from the Care SOS Center to alleviate their difficulties even a little.” He added, “We will continue to build a Gangdong-type care system and do our best to eliminate care gaps.”