"Back to Daily Life"... Jungnang-gu's Measures for Recovery and Livelihood Support?... Yongsan-gu's Spring Environmental Overhaul

[Seoul District News] Jungnang-gu, ▲128 Senior Centers Fully Operational from 20th ▲Seoul Rose Festival Opens May 5 ▲Strengthened Support for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed with Emergency Living Expenses and Employment Retention Subsidies ▲Long Covid Management System Established for Customized Mental Health Services... Dongdaemun-gu Inspects Elderly Heatwave Shelters... Jung-gu Conducts Safety Checks on Play Facilities at 27 Daycare Centers... Dongjak-gu Mental Health Welfare Center and Mind Health Center Offer Professional Psychological Counseling Services

Jungnang District Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jungnang-gu is implementing comprehensive operational and support policies to help residents return to their daily lives following the lifting of social distancing measures.

Cultural events, which had been subdued due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, will fully revive this spring. The district will open the Seoul Rose Festival on May 5th, featuring a variety of events. At the Jungnang Art Center, a planned exhibition titled "Dancing Light, Sound of the Soul" will showcase a Van Gogh replica experience, and regular physical education classes will resume, with a national badminton tournament scheduled for May 14th.

Various facilities such as senior centers and infant welfare facilities will also operate normally. The district’s 128 senior centers will resume normal operations from the 20th of this month for seniors who have completed their third vaccination. The district will strengthen disinfection efforts at senior centers through regular sanitation and continuous monitoring, and starting next month, will implement specialized and mobile programs along with lunch services at these centers.

Community childcare rooms, which had limited occupancy to 50%, will return to full 100% capacity from the 26th, and face-to-face services and education at infant welfare facilities will gradually resume starting in May.

Ground fountains that cool the city and create refreshing scenery will also be activated. Contact-type fountains had been suspended to prevent COVID-19 infection, but from May, dynamic and lively water displays will be available at 13 locations across the district.

To revitalize the stagnant local economy, the district actively supports the daily recovery of small business owners and self-employed individuals. Support policies such as loss compensation, aid for closed small businesses, and support for benevolent landlords are being actively promoted and continuously publicized.

Employment recovery is also being swiftly supported through programs like unpaid leave employment maintenance subsidies for COVID-19 affected industries, and emergency livelihood support for special employment types and freelancers. In particular, the district plans to resume the operation of visiting job centers and job discovery teams to focus on priority hiring of local residents in connection with local companies.

For residents struggling physically and mentally with aftereffects even after recovering from COVID-19, a post-COVID management system has been established that links health center consultations to affiliated medical institutions. Additionally, customized mental health services are provided according to life cycle stages (youth, pregnant women, middle-aged, elderly living alone) to address social isolation caused by COVID-19.

A district official stated, “With the lifting of social distancing, facility operations and various face-to-face programs have resumed. We will actively promote diverse support policies to help residents return to their daily lives.”

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) will carry out a 35-day spring urban environment overhaul from April 11 to May 15.

This is in preparation for an expected increase in visitors to local attractions including Itaewon following the lifting of COVID-19 social distancing measures, aiming to enhance a clean and safe city image and help revitalize the local economy.

The district has designated April 18 to 30 as the intensive implementation period and will carry out 15 projects across three areas: cleaning, maintenance, and safety.

The cleaning sector targets neighborhoods, roads and sidewalks, public buildings, facilities, and areas in front of homes and stores.

In particular, the district will clean contaminated transportation convenience facilities such as bicycle racks, road mirrors, and guiding posts to restore their original functions, wash parking lot markings in resident-priority parking lots, and remove hazards such as surrounding walls and fences.

Additionally, focusing on four key management zones prone to large-scale damage due to poor road drainage and 12 main roads, a total of 17,897 rainwater drains within the district will be cleaned.

The maintenance sector targets parks, green spaces, streets, bus stop signs, underground passages, pedestrian overpasses, and defective rainwater drains.

The district will wash off contaminants such as de-icing agents, exhaust fumes, and dust from trees and maintain nameplates. Items obstructing pedestrian movement along streets will be removed, and a mobile patrol team will be formed to maintain floating advertisements and public bulletin boards. Bus stop signs on six cultural shuttle bus routes (90 stops) and rainwater drains with drainage issues will be repaired.

The safety sector targets six large construction sites, 95 heatwave shade shelters, and 200 children’s playground facilities.

The district will conduct safety inspections and provide guidance on surrounding maintenance at three construction sites: Wonhyo-ro 1-ga station area youth housing, Hyundai apartment remodeling, and Hannam Tower expansion remodeling, as well as three urban redevelopment project construction sites: Yongsan Station front area 1-1 district, International Building vicinity 5th district, and Jeongbichang front area 2-1 district.

Shade shelters installed at major crosswalks will be checked for proper operation, and playground facilities will be self-inspected by their managing entities using checklists, followed by sample inspections (15 sites) and joint inspections (5 sites).

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, “All social distancing measures were lifted starting the 18th. We will do our best to create a safe and pleasant city image so that the local economy, which had been stagnant, can revive like the vitality of spring.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) has begun facility inspections of district-run senior centers designated as heatwave shelters in preparation for the summer heat.

The 34 district-run senior centers in Dongdaemun-gu also serve as heatwave shelters for seniors during summer. Taking advantage of the temporary suspension of operations due to COVID-19, inspections have been conducted to ensure safe and comfortable operation.

The district checked whether heatwave shelter signs were installed and whether cooling devices were functioning properly. To prevent respiratory diseases among seniors and improve air quality, all cooling devices were cleaned. Repairs and replacements for devices found to need maintenance during the inspection will be completed by the end of April.

Additionally, the district is thoroughly preparing for the upcoming heatwave by providing guidance on heatwave behavior such as adequate hydration and avoiding outdoor activities to seniors vulnerable to heat, and by strengthening promotional activities for senior heatwave shelter operations.

A district official said, “Since frequent heatwaves are expected this summer, we conducted thorough inspections of district-run senior centers used as heatwave shelters as a proactive measure. We will do our best to ensure seniors can spend a healthy and cool summer through proper operation of these shelters.”

District-run senior centers in Dongdaemun-gu will resume operations from the 25th, operating weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) is conducting safety inspections of playground facilities at daycare centers until May 13 to prevent children's safety accidents.

The inspection targets 27 daycare centers in Jung-gu subject to the "Children's Playground Safety Management Act," checking the safety management status of facilities, compliance with legal obligations such as maintenance duties by managing entities, completion of safety education, and subscription to liability insurance.

Particular attention will be paid to potential hazards such as structural deformation of playground equipment, loosening of hooks, bolts, and screws, accumulation of obstacles, and depressions in flooring that could harm children.

Issues that can be immediately corrected will be addressed on-site, while facilities requiring repair or replacement will be given a correction period with follow-up inspections to verify compliance. Facilities deemed old or hazardous will undergo detailed safety inspections by certified safety inspection agencies.

Starting in May, the district will provide indoor air quality expert consulting for small daycare centers with a total floor area under 430㎡, which are not subject to the "Indoor Air Quality Control Act."

Since 2019, Jung-gu has been the first in Seoul to promote direct management of public daycare centers to provide high-quality childcare services. The district fully supports parents' necessary expenses such as field trip fees, special activity fees, and specialization fees, and offers the highest level of meal ingredient support in Seoul. From March this year, entrance preparation funds have also been provided to cover costs such as school supplies and accident insurance premiums.

Currently, 14 daycare centers are directly managed by the district, with plans to convert all daycare centers in the area to direct management by 2023.

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) is providing psychological counseling and mental health services to heal the physical and mental fatigue of residents caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to support a healthy return to daily life.

First, any resident experiencing psychological difficulties such as depression and stress due to COVID-19, including confirmed cases, can receive COVID-19 psychological counseling at the Dongjak-gu Mental Health Welfare Center (253-3 Sadang-ro).

COVID-19 psychological counseling involves mental health welfare center specialists conducting screening tests for stress, depression, suicide risk, etc., and linking high-risk individuals or those seeking in-depth counseling to specialized counseling institutions or local psychiatric medical institutions for ongoing support. Operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Additionally, programs such as youth group psychological programs, visiting school mental health education "Knowing My Mind," depression screening tests, adult mental illness rehabilitation projects, and the "Happiness Clinic" offering psychiatric consultations and diagnostic evaluations are provided.

Furthermore, the district, in collaboration with the Dongjak-gu Mind Health Center (140 Noryangjin-ro), has started a "one-on-one psychological counseling service" for local residents such as Noryangjin examinees and office workers exhausted by COVID-19.

The one-on-one counseling service includes psychological tests such as MBTI personality type, MMPI multiphasic personality inventory, and SCT sentence completion test, as well as self-assessments for mental health screening including depression, anxiety, and alcohol addiction. Tests are conducted by appointment; residents can call to make a reservation and then visit the center.

In addition to psychological testing, mental health specialists provide personalized counseling services for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, as well as family issues, workplace stress, and exam-related stress.

A 25-year-old examinee, A, who had complained of exam stress, said, “It was a great opportunity to accurately understand my vague condition through psychological testing and receive counseling all at once.”

Various other psychological support services are also offered, including group counseling sessions titled "Time When You and I Meet," art therapy sessions called "Moments Drawing Myself," and mindfulness meditation classes named "Managing My Exhausted Mind."

Residents experiencing psychological or mental health difficulties can contact the Mind Health Center or Dongjak-gu Mental Health Welfare Center for assistance.

Park Sung-hee, head of the Health Management Division, said, “If you are experiencing psychological difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, please do not hesitate to use our counseling services. We will continue to do our best to help residents whose bodies and minds are exhausted recover through various healing services.”