Mapo District Sports Center Bowling Alley Lanes Increased from 12 to 20... Nowon District Ranks Joint 1st in Public Institution Trust Among Seoul Autonomous Districts

[Seoul District News] Mapo-gu Expands from 12 to 20 Lanes with Additional Rest Areas and Parking Spaces
Plans to Build International Standard Swimming Pool in Seongsan-dong and Sports Facilities at Seoul Combined Cycle Power Plant... Nowon-gu Ranks Joint 1st in Public Institution Trust Among Seoul Districts in 2021 Seoul Survey... Gwangjin-gu Launches Customized Business Clinics to Boost Small Business Resilience... Eunpyeong-gu Recruits 25 Youth for 2022 Community-Led Programs... Dongdaemun-gu Resolves Resident Inconvenience over Shared Land Division at Yongdu Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] "Participation in physical activities results in a maximum annual medical expense reduction of 80,000 KRW per person, which, when extrapolated to the entire population, translates to a potential medical cost saving of up to 2.8 trillion KRW."

This is part of the 2007 study titled "Economic Effects of Regular Participation in Physical Activities," jointly conducted by the Seoul National University Sports Science Research Institute, National Health Insurance Service, and Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced that it has commenced construction to expand the bowling alley lanes at the Mapo-gu Community Sports Center (hereafter the Center) from the existing 12 lanes to 20 lanes to promote residents' health through encouraging everyday sports activities.

As of October last year, the number of bowling club members in Mapo-gu was approximately 700, and the average daily users of the Center's bowling alley were about 220, making it difficult to meet the residents' bowling demand with only 12 lanes.

To alleviate the inconvenience of waiting 1 to 2 hours on average during weekends, the district decided to add 8 lanes and began a 493㎡ expansion project on the 30th of last month.

Additionally, the locker room and rest area will be expanded by 118㎡ to enhance user satisfaction, and to meet the increased parking demand from more bowling alley users, the first floor of the Center will be expanded by 202㎡ with 6 additional parking spaces planned.

The project cost is 3.734 billion KRW, with the opening targeted for January next year. The bowling alley will be closed during the construction period.

Meanwhile, the district is also promoting the construction of a resident convenience facility with a total floor area of approximately 5,010㎡ (1 basement floor, 4 above-ground floors) within the Seoul Combined Thermal Power Plant. Construction will start in June and complete by March 2024. The facility will include a swimming pool, multipurpose gymnasium, and fitness center, addressing the lack of public sports facilities in the Seogang-dong and Hapjeong-dong areas.

Furthermore, aiming for completion in September 2025, the district is advancing plans to build an international standard swimming pool with eight 50m lanes and a multipurpose gymnasium in Saetteo Neighborhood Park, located at 165-120 Seongsan-dong, marking the first such facility among Seoul's autonomous districts.

A district official stated, "Through the expansion of the bowling alley focused on user demand, we will provide high satisfaction to residents and activate everyday sports by expanding various sports infrastructures."

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) was found to have the highest public institution trust rating in the 2021 Seoul Survey.

According to the '2021 Seoul Survey' urban policy indicators and community survey results announced by Seoul City on the 6th, Nowon-gu received high evaluations in areas such as social trust, happiness index, leisure satisfaction, green environment satisfaction, and public education environment satisfaction. Additionally, the satisfaction with nighttime walking environment rose significantly by 13 ranks compared to the previous year.

□ Joint 1st Place in Trust in Public Institutions

Nowon-gu ranked joint first with Songpa-gu in the 'trust in public institutions' indicator, which measures social trust. Trust in family, friends, and neighbors also ranked within the top 1 to 3, indicating that the community maintains a foundation of trust between public institutions and civil society.

□ 3rd Place in Self-Perceived Happiness

The happiness index of Nowon-gu residents ranked 3rd, rising two places from 5th in 2020. Among health, finance, relationships, family, and social life factors, satisfaction with personal health was identified as the main contributor to the overall happiness index. Despite a general decline in happiness and health satisfaction across Seoul, Nowon-gu residents showed high satisfaction.

□ 5th in Leisure Satisfaction, 7th in Green Environment Satisfaction

Nowon-gu ranked 5th in leisure satisfaction, a significant rise from 16th last year. Satisfaction with green environments (within 1 km, walkable within 15 minutes) also improved to 7th place. Projects such as regional healing towns and ecological stream development are believed to have positively influenced residents' quality of life.

Moreover, satisfaction with nighttime walking environment jumped from 21st to 8th place, a 13-rank increase.

□ 5th in Residential Area Parking Satisfaction

Parking satisfaction in residential areas ranked 5th. Considering that most apartments in Nowon-gu are over 30 years old and lack underground parking, the district's nighttime opening of affiliated parking lots since 2018 is credited with alleviating parking difficulties.

□ 6th in Local Public Education Environment Satisfaction

In education environment satisfaction, the district ranked 6th in public education, reflecting general resident satisfaction with the area's status as an education-specialized district.

The Seoul Survey urban policy indicators and community survey are conducted annually targeting household members aged 15 and above residing in Seoul, with participation from 20,000 households (40,441 individuals). The survey combines household interviews and online questionnaires and was conducted from September 6 to November 8 last year. It is recognized for its fairness and reliability, providing scientific data for policy implementation.

Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "It is meaningful that we achieved notable results in a survey objectively analyzing residents' perceived quality of life. We will continue to do our best to improve areas where indicators are still lacking through effective district policies."

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is launching a ‘Customized Management Clinic for Alleyway Commercial Districts’ to strengthen the self-sustainability of small business owners.

The ‘Customized Management Clinic’ was established to accelerate the recovery of alleyway commercial districts ahead of the post-COVID era and to enhance business owners' management mindset and actual sales growth.

This project will be conducted in two stages: ‘Self-Employment Clinic’ and ‘Facility Improvement Cost Support,’ selecting a total of 90 businesses. Of these, 60 will be managed by the district, and 30 will be conducted by the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation Gwangjin Branch, targeting specific alleyway commercial areas.

The ‘Self-Employment Clinic’ offers one-on-one customized consulting, identifying each business’s management difficulties and providing diagnosis and improvement plans across marketing and promotion, customer management, store operations, menu development, labor and tax issues, and overall management. The consulting is conducted twice by default, with an optional third session for interested businesses.

Additionally, businesses completing the clinic are eligible for facility improvement cost support. The support amount is up to 1 million KRW per business (with a 10% self-payment), covering necessary business facilities such as signage, awnings, display racks, and interior renovations.

Small business owners wishing to apply can submit applications through the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation Gwangjin Branch by April 29.

Eligible applicants are small business owners registered within the district. Selection is on a first-come, first-served basis after document review to ensure fairness. Only businesses leasing their premises are eligible.

For further inquiries, contact the Gwangjin-gu Regional Economy Division or the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation Gwangjin Branch, or refer to the public notices section on the Gwangjin-gu website.

Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Seon-gap stated, “While we have provided direct support such as financial aid to small business owners struggling due to COVID-19, we judged that it is now time to focus on fundamentally enhancing their self-sustainability through consulting. We will continue this beyond a one-time project to help all small business owners become management experts.”

Alongside this, Gwangjin-gu is also promoting initiatives such as the interest-free, no-guarantee Gwangjin-type special loan, issuance of Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates, and the public delivery app ‘Ttaenggyeoyo’ to support small business owners facing prolonged economic difficulties due to COVID-19.

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) is publicly recruiting 25 young people across 24 fields in 2022 under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Region-led Youth Jobs’ program to alleviate youth unemployment.

The ‘Ministry of the Interior and Safety Region-led Youth Jobs’ program discovers and provides regionally suitable jobs for youth, supporting economic activity and job competency enhancement, and offers various services needed by the community as youth employment opportunities.

This year, the district plans to recruit linked jobs in various fields such as regional specialization, social economy, and community contribution to create a foundation for mutual growth between the region and youth.

Applicants must be youth job seekers aged between 19 and 39 as of January 1 this year. Priority will be given to Eunpyeong-gu residents, who can apply by selecting their desired field.

The application period is until 6 PM on the 18th. Applications can be submitted in person or by email to the district’s Social Economy Division. Detailed information is available on the district website’s recruitment announcements.

Selected youth will work at companies in the Eunpyeong area from May 2 to December 31. Compensation includes the 2022 Eunpyeong-gu living wage of 2,232,960 KRW per month, four major social insurances, and job competency enhancement training.

A district official said, “We hope this program will help local companies overcome youth labor shortages and provide youth with opportunities to build job skills and broaden their perspectives, enabling them to grow as key members of the community.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has completed the subdivision of shared land at Yongdu-dong 231-5 and eight other parcels (total area 4,583.90㎡, Yongdu Market) into 48 parcels through proactive administration, involving over 110 landowners over 60 years.

The shared land at Yongdu Market was challenging to subdivide under the Special Act on Shared Land Subdivision because over 110 landowners held shared ownership interests across 9 parcels.

The district completed the subdivision through continuous cooperation and communication with residents. Over 2 years and 9 months, to organize ownership shares of more than 100 co-owners, the district analyzed the rights of owners without resident registration numbers, investigated interested parties, and confirmed ownership shares.

Following surveying and appraisal procedures, the registration process was finalized on the 14th of last month.

This subdivision now enables the exercise of property rights that were practically impossible before due to the need for consent from all co-owners for building permits, sales, or financial institution collateral settings.

Moreover, the Special Act on Shared Land Subdivision, which allowed simplified subdivision of shared land based on current occupancy to resolve ownership and usage inconveniences and had been temporarily enforced since 2012, concluded with the subdivision of Yongdu Market shared land.

Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol said, “Through proactive administration, we resolved decades-long disputes and inconveniences related to property rights. We thank the Seoul Northern District Court Registry Office for their efforts in the registration process and will continue to provide administrative support to protect residents’ property rights.”