"Mid-Summer Heatwave Begins"... Seocho-gu Resumes Operation of Seoripul Shade Shelters to Beat the Heat

[Seoul District News] Seocho-gu Resumes Full Operation of 212 ‘Seoripul Wondumak’ Heatwave Shelters from This Month... Dongdaemun-gu Spring Alley Cleaning with 205 Public Officials and 536 Residents from 14 Community Centers... Yangcheon-gu Issues COVID-19 Quarantine Notices via 24-Hour Automated Text and Online... Seodaemun-gu Supports Health Improvement for Vulnerable Young Single-Person Households... Gwangjin-gu Provides 1 Million KRW for Third Child, 2 Million KRW for Fourth, and 3 Million KRW for Fifth or More Children

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu announced that it will resume operation of the large shade shelters called ‘Seoripul Wondumak’ in front of crosswalks to provide relief from the scorching sun starting this April.

This year, the district will operate a total of 212 Seoripul Wondumak shelters. They have been installed at 178 key locations such as major crosswalks and traffic islands, and 34 mini Seoripul Wondumak shelters have been set up at important spots on side streets.

Additionally, the district will actively collect residents’ requests for further installations and plans to add more shelters where needed.

The Seoripul Wondumak, introduced nationwide for the first time in 2015 as a fixed shade shelter, measures 5m in width and 3.5m in height (mini Seoripul Wondumak: 2.5m wide and 3m high). It has become a lifestyle-oriented administrative service highly praised by residents and is now a benchmark for other local governments and private companies, becoming an essential facility for summer heatwave preparedness commonly seen across the country.

In 2017, the project was awarded the ‘Seoul Creative Award’ for its contribution to spreading large shade shelter policies nationwide, and in 2019, it received the highest award in the local government category of the Korea Design Awards, the ‘Presidential Award.’ It has also been recognized internationally, winning the ‘Green Apple Awards,’ Europe’s top environmental award, in 2017, and the ‘Green World Awards’ in 2018, receiving great acclaim both domestically and abroad.

Cheon Jeong-wook, Acting Mayor of Seocho-gu, stated, "We will continue to implement lifestyle-oriented administrative services that alleviate residents’ daily inconveniences, like the ‘Seoripul Wondumak.’"

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) conducted a ‘Spring Cleaning in Our Neighborhood’ campaign to remove accumulated grime from the winter season.

The district started the spring cleaning on the 23rd of last month to provide residents with a clean and pleasant living environment. The cleaning focused on vulnerable areas such as alleys and side streets, removing long-neglected waste and piled-up debris, as well as cleaning narrow trash spots in resident-priority parking spaces, parks, and green belts.

A total of 205 public officials from 14 community centers and 536 members of resident organizations joined forces to thoroughly clean dust and trash accumulated around alleyways, collecting approximately 8 tons of waste.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the cleaning zones were divided, and the campaign was conducted while adhering to basic quarantine guidelines such as wearing masks and hand sanitizing.

The district’s Cleaning Administration Department has deployed 114 environmental officers who focus daily (Monday to Friday) on keeping main roads and side streets clean. They also operate 303 Clean Keeper devices, equipment for educating against and monitoring illegal dumping, to eradicate unauthorized waste disposal.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “Thanks to the joint efforts of community center staff and residents, we were able to thoroughly clean the accumulated grime from winter. We will continue to strive to maintain a clean and pleasant living environment.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that since the 6th, it has been operating a ‘24-hour automatic text message dispatch’ and ‘online issuance’ service for COVID-19 isolation notices.

In response to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and the potential delays in issuing isolation notices, the district introduced this system to alleviate inconvenience, simplify home treatment guidance and issuance procedures, and improve administrative efficiency.

First, the 24-hour automatic text message issuance system works by having confirmed patients send a text message with their name only to the recipient number #11102620 from their own mobile phone. Within 1 to 2 minutes, a legally stamped isolation notice form is sent back via text message.

Issuance of the text isolation notice requires that the name of the isolation subject and the phone number sending the request match the epidemiological investigation records. Note that this system applies only to confirmed cases from February 1 onward, and issuance may be slightly delayed during the daily upload of confirmed case lists between 2 and 3 PM.

Additionally, the district has established an online system on the district office website (both online and mobile) that allows residents to authenticate themselves and issue isolation notices anytime and anywhere, greatly enhancing convenience.

A health center official said, “Since the COVID-19 isolation notice is an essential document for various proofs, we established the 24-hour automatic text dispatch and online issuance services to ensure easy access at any time. We will continue to actively collect feedback from users and improve the service to provide convenient administrative services.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) is launching the ‘Gather as One’ project to promote the health of young single-person households in their 20s and 30s living in so-called ‘Hell Houses’ such as semi-basements, rooftop rooms, and goshiwon (small dormitory-style rooms).

The district will hold ‘exercise education using small equipment’ every other Wednesday from 7 to 8 PM and ‘social dining’ every Saturday from 11 AM to 1 PM at the Seodaemun-gu Family Center (244 Jeungga-ro) from May 11 through October.

Social dining (mealtime gatherings) includes planning low-sodium healthy meal menus, preparing ingredients, learning cooking, making meal preps, and sharing meals. Ingredients will be provided.

Meal prep is a compound word of ‘meal’ and ‘preparation,’ meaning preparing meals for a week or a set period all at once in advance. Both exercise education and social dining will be held 10 times each.

During the project period, the district will also support laundry of participants’ bedding twice. Furthermore, counseling will be provided as needed to help participants manage daily life and work, and support services will be linked based on identified difficulties.

Those wishing to participate in the ‘Gather as One’ project can apply by the end of this month through the Seodaemun-gu Family Center website (Program Guide → Program List → Search ‘Youth’) or by phone.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “This project was prepared to improve the emotional and physical health of young single-person households in vulnerable housing. We will actively reflect participants’ opinions in the detailed implementation process.”

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) will provide childbirth congratulatory money of at least 1 million KRW and up to 3 million KRW to families with a third child or more starting in April.

As part of efforts to overcome low birth rates, the district amended the ‘Ordinance on Childbirth and Childcare Support in Seoul Gwangjin-gu’ earlier this year, deciding to provide lump-sum childbirth congratulatory money of 1 million KRW for the third child, 2 million KRW for the fourth child, and 3 million KRW for the fifth child or more.

From this year, all newborn families in the district will receive a 2 million KRW voucher called the ‘First Meeting Use Voucher,’ and families with a third child or more will receive additional childbirth congratulatory money.

Therefore, from this April, families with a first or second child will receive 2 million KRW via the First Meeting Use Voucher; families with a third child will receive a total of 3 million KRW (voucher plus congratulatory money); families with a fourth child will receive 4 million KRW; and families with a fifth child or more will receive 5 million KRW.

Before the amendment, in 2021, the support amounts were 100,000 KRW for the first child, 300,000 KRW for the second, 500,000 KRW for the third, 1 million KRW for the fourth, and 5 million KRW for the fifth or more.

Eligible recipients for childbirth congratulatory money are residents registered in Gwangjin-gu as of the child’s birth date and the application date, including the child’s household members, with retroactive application from children born after January 1, 2022.

Applications can be made at the local community center within six months of the birth registration or online via Government24. Payments are made to the applicant’s account on the 15th of the month following the application month. For details, contact the Gwangjin-gu Family Welfare Division.

Regarding support for newborn families, Gwangjin-gu also started providing a monthly infant allowance of 300,000 KRW for infants aged 0 to 23 months under home care born after January this year.

Additionally, the child allowance, previously paid to children under 7 years old, was expanded from January to cover all children under 8 years old.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We hope the expanded childbirth congratulatory money will ease the financial burden on families and provide practical help. We will continue to improve housing, infrastructure, and education environments to make Gwangjin-gu a great place to have and raise children.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) will resume issuing health certificates (health examination result certificates) starting April 18.

Geumcheon-gu had suspended the issuance of health examination result certificates and related testing and diagnosis services at the health center to focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19, but with the recent relative stabilization of infections, the service will be resumed.

The issuance is available only to Geumcheon-gu residents working in general food service establishments; residents of other local governments are not eligible.

Operating hours are from 9 AM to 11 AM and 1 PM to 5 PM, and applications can be made at the health center’s second-floor civil service office. Visitors must bring valid identification.

Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “Residents who needed health examination certificates have had to bear high costs at private medical institutions. We hope resuming this service will provide some relief to food service workers who have faced difficulties during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”