[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Develops Non-Budgeted Travel App for Seongdong Travelers, Providing Lively Information and Continuous Updates to Facilitate Visits to Local Attractions... Dobong-gu Opens Letter Literature Museum, Hosting Nationwide Letter Writing Contest... Dongdaemun-gu Launches 2022 Traveling Culture Plaza from June, Recruiting 50 Performance Teams Until End of May... Dongjak-gu Expands Artist-Resident Interaction with 'Action Art Challenge'... Yangcheon-gu Activates 19 Water Facilities Starting May
The 'Seongdong Travel Map Platform' allows you to access cultural tourism information at a glance on your smartphone. (Background: Seongdong-gu Office 1st floor book cafe 'Seongdong Chaekmaru')
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu has independently developed the ‘Seongdong Travel Map Platform’ and opened it to residents starting from the 10th of this month.
The ‘Seongdong Travel Map Platform’ is an online travel information map unique to Seongdong-gu that introduces and guides all cultural tourism information within the district, including Seongsu-dong, which has recently gained attention for its diverse attractions.
Equipped with travel information for over 300 locations across 30 categories, it provides detailed guidance on themed travels such as Seongsu Brooklyn, handmade shoes, romantic walking paths, as well as travel destinations in Seongsu-dong like Ttukseom Station, Seongsu Station, and Seoul Forest. It also introduces tourist attractions such as Wangsimni Square, Seoul Forest, and Understand Avenue, along with cafes, popular restaurants, and accommodations. Clicking on each attraction offers travel descriptions and vivid on-site photos, giving users a sense of being right there.
The ‘Seongdong Travel Map Platform’ is accessible via the Seongdong-gu website as well as on mobile devices, and users can access the map service through QR codes. Additionally, users can conveniently download the Seongdong-gu tourism guide map and Seongsu travel brochures (covering Seongsu Station, Ttukseom Station, and Seoul Forest) from a dedicated section.
As Seongsu-dong rises as a representative center of industry and cultural arts in Seoul, places like Wangsimni Square, Eungbongsan Mountain, Songjeong Embankment, and Jungnangcheon Stream have established themselves as key local attractions. Accordingly, the district has prepared an online map service that is easy to use to introduce these attractions to urban travelers.
Notably, the ‘Seongdong Travel Map Platform,’ developed over seven months from last September to last month, was built independently. From system design to data construction and program development, the process was carried out by the information and communication department and staff. The icons and images were also created by staff members themselves. Through meetings with the working team, travel information integrating Seongdong-gu’s attractions and cultural assets was compiled, resulting in an integrated system that is easy to maintain and saved approximately 100 million KRW in budget.
A Seongdong-gu official said, “We hope that the convenient ‘Seongdong Travel Map Platform,’ which can be viewed with one hand, will allow visitors to enjoy the charm of Seongdong’s attractions,” adding, “We will continue to update the platform to provide richer travel information in the future.”
Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) signed a business agreement with ‘Dobong-gu?Hankyoreh (CEO Kim Hyun-dae)’ at the Letter Literature Museum on the 10th to successfully hold the nationwide letter-writing contest.
Through this agreement, the two organizations will cooperate in hosting and sponsoring the nationwide letter-writing contest, establishing a sustainable foundation for its continuous holding, and supporting the Hankyoreh CEO Award.
The ‘Nationwide Letter-Writing Contest’ is hosted by Dobong-gu and organized by the Dobong Cultural Center, held for the first time this year to commemorate the opening of the Letter Literature Museum and Family Month in May.
The contest themes are ‘Family Month’ and ‘Prayers for Peace in Ukraine.’ Letters that express feelings that participants wanted to convey but could not on occasions such as Children’s Day, Parents’ Day, and Teachers’ Day, or letters comforting Ukraine and praying for peace, are invited.
The contest is divided into four categories: ▲Lower elementary (grades 1?3) ▲Upper elementary (grades 4?6) ▲Middle and high school ▲University and general public. The submission period is from May 16 to May 23, and anyone interested can participate.
Those wishing to participate can submit the application form and their letter by mail (addressed to the Letter Literature Museum Letter-Writing Contest Manager, Dobong-gu, Dobong-ro 552, Dobong-gu Community Center, postmarked by May 23) or scan and email the application form and letter.
The winners will be announced on May 31 on the Dobong Cultural Center website. A total of 42 winners, including grand prize, excellence awards, merit awards, encouragement awards, special awards, and peace prayer awards, will receive honors such as the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Award, Dobong-gu Mayor’s Award, Ukrainian Embassy Award, and Hankyoreh CEO Award, along with a total prize money of 8.6 million KRW.
The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 11 at the Letter Literature Museum. The winning works will be exhibited for one week from the ceremony at the museum’s exhibition hall, website, and social media channels.
Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu said, “I hope this contest will be a time to reflect on the warm emotions unique to letters and the value of slow communication, writing letters while thinking of someone, in this rapidly changing digital era.”
The Dobong-gu Letter Literature Museum, opened on March 14, is located within the Dobong-gu Community Center. The museum spans 402.31㎡, including exhibition rooms, program rooms, and offices, and offers various exhibition and experience programs such as media tables, the Mind Storage (video experience room), voice letters, and photo zones.
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is recruiting busking performance teams until May 31 to participate in the ‘2022 Traveling Cultural Yard’ starting in June.
The ‘2022 Traveling Cultural Yard’ is a program that visits cultural leisure targets segmented by age and group to present performances in various genres. It provides a stage for performance teams to showcase their skills and offers residents, including culturally vulnerable groups, opportunities to easily experience cultural performances in daily life.
Before starting this cultural yard, the district is recruiting 50 busking performance teams. The recruitment fields include music, instrumental, traditional, performance, and any genres suitable for outdoor and indoor performances. Interested busking teams can download the application form from the Dongdaemun-gu website under Dongdaemun News → Cultural Events and submit it via email.
Selected teams will perform at multi-use facilities such as Dapsimni Film Media Center and Seonnongdan History and Culture Hall, welfare facilities including senior centers, local children’s centers, comprehensive welfare centers, as well as at local representative festivals and cultural events. They will receive a modest activity fee and support for promotion and on-site operations.
A district official stated, “We hope the ‘Traveling Cultural Yard’ will provide warm comfort and hope to residents exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and serve as an opportunity for amateur artists to engage in cultural and artistic activities.”
Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) will continue the ‘Action! Art Challenge,’ which broadens the connection between artists and residents, this year as well.
The ‘Action! Art Challenge’ is the second online social media (SNS) cultural arts video performance challenge following last year. This year’s challenge will run for three months from the 16th of this month through July.
This year, any artist capable of performing can participate in the ‘Action! Art Challenge.’ Participants upload a cultural arts activity video of about three minutes or less on their Facebook or Instagram account and send a confirmation email to complete participation.
At the start of the video, participants must perform a hand slate clap and shout ‘Action!’ and include designated phrases and hashtags in the post text.
The challenge will provide a modest online performance fee to the first 90 teams who apply, and an additional 1.5 million KRW busking performance fee will be awarded to six teams selected through judging. Artists residing or active in the district will receive extra points.
The district plans to hold the ‘Action! Art Concert’ on the streets this fall to expand opportunities for local artists and residents to enjoy culture. The concert will feature offline performances by teams awarded in this challenge across various genres through busking.
Details of this challenge can be found on the Dongjak Cultural Foundation website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Last year, 83 artist teams participated, with 10 teams finally selected to present performances in diverse genres such as Korean traditional music, traditional dance, musicals, jazz, and magic. A satisfaction survey conducted among participating artists and audiences showed over 90% satisfaction, marking great success.
Teams participating last year included ▲Dongjak Dance Association (traditional dance) ▲Performance Group Baramgil (musical) ▲Haetae (percussion) ▲Oriental Heroes (dance) ▲The Bliss (Kyungsung jazz), among others.
Park Tae-han, Director of the Sports and Culture Division, said, “Through the second year of the ‘Action! Art Challenge,’ we expect to promote Dongjak-gu’s status as a historic cultural city that realizes culture and arts in diverse ways both domestically and internationally.”
Yangcheon-gu announced that from May through September 30, it will fully operate 19 water feature facilities that provide cool scenery and fun activities within the urban area.
After trial operations, the water features, now in full operation from this month, include types such as ▲ground fountains (photo· Paris Park and 4 other locations) ▲general fountains (Dalmaeul Neighborhood Park and 5 other locations) ▲wall waterfalls (Haenuri Falls) ▲water playgrounds (Hanul Neighborhood Park and 2 other locations) ▲ponds and streams (Yangcheon Park and 3 other locations), totaling 19 sites located in major parks and along streets in the district.
Operating hours are based on avoiding nighttime and peak electricity usage times, running 3 to 4 times a day for 30 to 50 minutes each. However, the district plans to operate flexibly considering major events, weather conditions, electricity supply status, and user numbers.
Especially for water play-type water features and ground fountains, which are most popular among children, regular water quality inspections will be conducted to ensure hygiene.
Water quality inspections will be conducted once a week until June and twice a week during the peak summer season from July to September. Additionally, water in the reservoirs will be replaced once a week until June and twice a week in July and August to maintain clean water quality at all times.
A park and green space official said, “We hope residents relieve daily stress by enjoying the cool scenery, open views, and fun activities provided by the water features,” adding, “We will also thoroughly manage water quality and facilities to create a safe water feature environment.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
