Reopening of Gwangju Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center Brings 'Smiles to the Elderly'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center in Gwangju Metropolitan City has reopened after half a year of reorganization due to limited space and aging facilities.

According to Nam-gu on the 31st, a ‘Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center Reopening Ceremony’ was held in the morning at the large auditorium on the 2nd floor of the Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center in Wolsan-dong. About 60 seniors who use the welfare center attended to celebrate the event marking a fresh start with a new look.

The Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center, a health playground for the elderly, returned to the seniors after six months since the expansion and remodeling work began in September last year.

Nam-gu invested approximately 1.14 billion KRW in the major renovation to resolve inconveniences faced by the elderly.

The aging building, constructed 23 years ago, has been refurbished to a clean and fresh appearance.

In particular, the 2nd floor of the senior welfare center building was horizontally expanded to increase the total floor area, securing additional space for program operations. Previously, the existing building had a severe shortage of space to accommodate the number of users and various programs, causing considerable dissatisfaction among the elderly.

Along with this, the Love Restaurant, which provides meals for the elderly, was also renovated to a bright and welcoming appearance.

With an average of about 350 users per day, additional dining space was secured to allow 100 seniors to eat together at one time, minimizing inconvenience during meal times.

The previous dining area was limited in space, accommodating only 60 people per session, which required meals to be served in five shifts, causing much inconvenience.

A Nam-gu official said, “The seniors using the Nam-gu Senior Welfare Center are very satisfied, with smiles blooming on their faces upon seeing the completely transformed building even before the reopening,” adding, “We are confident that this will greatly contribute to all seniors in the district enjoying a happy and fulfilling later life.”