[Seoul District News] Dongdaemun-gu Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center in Seoul Yakryeongsi offers making Korean medicine lifestyle products using seasonal herbs like foot bath salt and bath additives... Seongdong-gu recruiting 30 participants for career recognition program from 11th to 24th, operating 3 sessions from 26th... Songpa-gu continues 'Picture Book Literacy' education this year... Gwanak-gu calls for resident proposal projects worth 1.8 billion won until April 29... Yangcheon-gu operates dementia relief center 'Hearim' family class in person... Seodaemun-gu provides flood prevention for flood-vulnerable households
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center (Seoul Yakryeongsi Korean Medicine Museum) has opened the ‘Korean Medicine Workshop’ to provide visitors with a cozy rest and diverse hands-on experiences.
The ‘Korean Medicine Workshop’ is a space where visitors can create Korean medicine lifestyle products using seasonal medicinal herbs. Small groups of visitors to the center can freely rest and participate in the experience without a separate reservation.
Located next to the foot bath experience area on the second floor of the center, the ‘Korean Medicine Workshop’ captures visitors’ attention by embodying the beauty of traditional Korean aesthetics, allowing them to enjoy a cozy rest before or after the foot bath experience or museum tour.
The current programs include ‘Making My Own Foot Bath Salt’ using four different medicinal herbs with distinct effects such as Houttuynia cordata, licorice, dried tangerine peel, and prickly pear cactus, and ‘Making Korean Medicine Bath Bombs’ using Artemisia capillaris, which is good for waste elimination.
Each program costs 3,000 KRW and takes about 15 minutes. Visitors wishing to participate can purchase tickets at the first-floor information desk without a reservation. For more details, contact the Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center.
Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “As the number of small group visitors increases, we have newly introduced the Korean Medicine Workshop to provide experiential activities that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can easily enjoy without a separate reservation. We hope visitors come and enjoy this unique experience of making Korean medicine lifestyle products using seasonal medicinal herbs.”
The Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center is a complex Korean medicine cultural facility recognized as a wellness tourism destination recommended by the Korea Tourism Organization and a Seoul-type wellness tourism site. It recently won the Tourism Culture Service Award at the Korea Service Satisfaction Awards this month. The center offers a Korean medicine museum and various education, experience, exhibition, and event programs related to Korean medicine.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, who participated in last year's Career Retained Women Talk Concert, is supporting career retained women.
Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jung Won-oh), which was the first in the nation to enact an ordinance for women with career breaks, will run a ‘Career Recognition Program’ starting from the 26th of this month, issuing career recognition certificates upon completion.
This program, conducted three times until the 10th of next month, is themed ‘Rewriting My Resume’ and includes sessions on ‘Writing the History of My Work,’ ‘Discovering My Capabilities,’ and ‘Completing My Resume.’
The program provides time to resolve various concerns such as fear of returning to the workplace despite having accumulated sufficient skills, anxiety about whether one can work as before, and the meaningful recognition of caregiving labor time.
It views work and caregiving experiences not as interruptions but as a continuum, focusing on building a resume centered on one’s capabilities, completing a resume that reflects one’s unique experiences and skills.
The program targets 30 women with career breaks who reside in Seongdong-gu or wish to work in companies located in Seongdong-gu and who want to receive the Seongdong-gu career recognition certificate. It is conducted at ‘New Ground,’ a community for mutual career growth among women. Applications are accepted from the 11th to the 24th of this month via the New Ground website or the Seongdong-gu Office website.
Seongdong-gu, which was the first nationwide to enact an ordinance related to women with career breaks (November 2021), previously conducted programs selecting women with career breaks, providing education and linking them to employment. Mayor Jung Won-oh of Seongdong-gu also held an online talk concert titled ‘Career Journey of 500 Women with Career Breaks.’
Subsequently, the district formed a committee of 11 members, including women with career breaks, chaired by Mayor Jung Won-oh. The first committee meeting was held on the 3rd of last month to review and decide on the issuance criteria and procedures for caregiving labor career recognition certificates.
Since January this year, Seongdong-gu’s invested and affiliated institutions such as Seongdong-gu Urban Management Corporation, Seongdong Cultural Foundation, and Seongdong Future Jobs have introduced a career recognition ratio item in their personnel regulations, recognizing 50% of caregiving periods for career recognition certificates.
As the district has proactively raised the value of ‘caregiving labor,’ a topic that everyone empathizes with but finds difficult to discuss openly, it plans to actively promote programs this year to help career holders harmoniously balance their workplaces and living environments.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We are making smooth progress from converting career breaks into career retention to recognizing caregiving labor as career experience. Through the career recognition certificate project, we hope that the social value of caregiving will spread and be acknowledged, including reflection in government policies.”
Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) continues to operate its literacy education program this year, which has attracted much attention in the education field amid concerns about basic literacy deficiencies highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, explained, “Due to COVID-19, children lost opportunities to face each other, share thoughts, and express themselves. Therefore, we implemented literacy education to help children develop not only basic reading and writing skills but also the ability to express their thoughts well and communicate with the world.”
Since last year, the district has been promoting the spread of literacy education programs. Through libraries, schools, and the Songpa Saem Future Education Center, the ‘Songpa-ga Songpa-hari (Hi Literacy, High Songpa)’ project is underway.
As part of this, Songpa-gu established the nation’s first model for ‘Songpa-type Literacy Education’ and developed and distributed age-specific textbooks. Various literacy activities and art activities using picture books are being conducted.
Programs include ▲Picture Book Open Studio ? Picture Books for Everyone ▲Visiting Picture Book Literacy ‘School of Picture Books’ ▲Free Semester System Class ‘Youth Picture Book School’ ▲‘Hari Concert ? Picture Book Snow Falling on Songpa,’ which combines digital original Korean picture book exhibitions and performances, attracting public interest and participation in literacy education.
Notably, the class at Seoul Gadong Elementary School was also made into an EBS documentary. Using content developed by the district through the school education expense support project, five students received picture book literacy education. Their transformation process was featured in the EBS Edu Documentary ‘The Power to Change My Child, Picture Book Literacy.’ The first episode aired on April 10, and the second episode will air on April 17 at 3:40 PM.
This year, the district will continue the project by conducting ▲Visiting Literacy ▲Picture Book Citizen Culture Salon ▲Picture Book Havruta Club for local schools.
Songpa-gu’s literacy education content and guide videos are available on the ‘Songpa-gu Integrated Library Website’ and can be used by anyone for educational purposes.
Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “We will continuously promote programs linked with the literacy project and Songpa Saem to create a city where residents correctly recognize various social issues and actively communicate, thereby enhancing the value of Songpa-gu.”
Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) Dementia Safety Center announced that it officially started face-to-face operation of the ‘Understanding Family Class’ from the 5th to enhance understanding and caregiving capabilities for dementia patients.
The ‘Understanding Family Class’ is a program designed to reduce negative prejudices held by caregivers about dementia, help them recognize dementia patients anew, relieve the burdens of dementia families, and provide hope and courage.
The program consists of a total of eight sessions: three sessions of ‘Understanding Dementia’ and five sessions of ‘Caregiving Wisdom,’ forming a detailed and systematic course.
The ‘Understanding Dementia’ education provides comprehensive information on correct understanding of dementia, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and management. The ‘Caregiving Wisdom’ education soothes the minds of patients and families and offers useful tips for long-term dementia care, including improving self-care abilities of family members.
After completing the education, the district plans to continue supporting information exchange and psychological solidarity among dementia families through self-help groups and healing programs.
The ‘Understanding Family Class’ is operated quarterly. Families wishing to participate in the second quarter program can apply to the Dementia Safety Center Family Support Team.
A medical official said, “Since dementia requires long-term response, it is crucial for families living together to maintain a positive attitude. We hope the ‘Understanding Family Class’ will serve as a foundation for correctly understanding dementia and wisely coping with the caregiving process.”
Gwanak-gu is conducting the ‘Resident Participatory Budget Project Regular Contest’ for the 2023 budget allocation until the 29th.
The ‘Resident Participatory Budget Project’ is a system where residents directly propose and review projects to participate in the budget allocation process. The district has set the scale of the resident participatory budget for next year at 1.8 billion KRW and is soliciting projects related to all areas of residents’ lives, such as improving local inconveniences and enhancing resident convenience.
Notably, this year, the district abolished the previous limit of 10 million KRW per project for neighborhood projects, strengthening autonomy in selecting neighborhood projects.
Any resident of Gwanak-gu can propose a project, including those affiliated with workplaces or organizations located in Gwanak-gu.
Residents wishing to participate can submit proposals directly through the district website (Online Gwanak Office → Resident Participatory Budget → Project Proposal) or visit/send applications via mail, fax, or email to each neighborhood community center or the district office’s Planning and Budget Department Regional Cooperation Team.
Submitted proposals will be reviewed by the ‘Resident Participatory Budget Committee and Neighborhood Meetings’ and deliberated by the Coordination Council composed of public and private members. Final selections will be made and confirmed through the district council’s review and resolution in December, then reflected and implemented in the 2023 budget.
The district is promoting the contest widely through banners, internet, SNS, and both online and offline channels to encourage resident participation. It also operates ‘Visiting Budget Schools’ and ‘Consulting Teams’ to help residents understand the participatory budget system and assist in writing proposal forms.
For more details about the project, refer to the district website or contact the Planning and Budget Department Regional Cooperation Team.
An official said, “We ask residents for active participation and diverse, creative ideas to improve local inconveniences and enhance resident convenience.”
Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced on the 11th that it will proactively prepare for summer heavy rains by installing flood prevention facilities free of charge in low-lying houses and commercial buildings in the area.
The district plans to spend 300 million KRW to support the installation of ‘water blocking panels’ and ‘indoor backflow preventers’ at about 230 vulnerable locations.
Water blocking panels are installed at entrances of low-lying houses and shops and windows of semi-basement houses to block rainwater on the ground from entering indoors during rainfall.
Indoor backflow preventers are devices installed in bathroom or kitchen drains that prevent water from public sewage systems from flowing back indoors when water levels rise. These devices also help block unpleasant odors.
Residents wishing to apply can submit applications to their neighborhood community centers or the district office’s Safety and Flood Control Department. After on-site inspection, the district plans to focus on installing flood prevention facilities by June this year. Tenants must have the consent of the building owner when applying.
An official said, “We hope many residents and merchants in low-lying areas apply to prevent flood damage and pay attention to maintaining the functionality of the installed facilities.”
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