Why Did New Public Officials in Yongsan-gu Embark on a Cheongbaek-ri Cultural Exploration?

[Seoul District News] Yongsan-gu to Hold Sessions on May 16-17, 2-6 PM, for 67 New Public Officials with Less Than 2 Years of Service at Hyochangwon Uiyeolsa Burial Site to Instill Patriotism and Integrity... Dobong-gu Family Festival 'Reply Dobongkkebi' on 20th... Guro-gu Hosts 4th Intercultural Festival for World Day... Gwanak-gu Holds Cultural City Promotion Committee Meeting... Nowon-gu Takes Measures to Protect Civil Service Officers Handling Complaints... 24-Hour Non-Face-to-Face Electronic Civil Service Using Mobile App 'The Gangnam'...

On May 16, a Cheongbaek-ri cultural exploration was held at Hyochangwon.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) has promoted a ‘New Public Officials’ Integrity Cultural Exploration’ for public officials with less than two years of appointment. This initiative aims to provide an opportunity to personally experience the value of integrity through understanding local history.

The cultural exploration was held in two sessions on the afternoons of the 16th and 17th from 2 to 6 PM at locations including Hyochangwon and the Uiyeolsa Shrine burial grounds.

The participants were 67 Yongsan-gu public officials appointed between November 2020 and April 2021. The program targeted new officials who had to take most of their initial training online due to COVID-19.

The cultural exploration program included ▲Anti-corruption integrity special lecture ▲Visiting Uiyeolsa Shrine ▲On-site guided tour of Hyochangwon ▲On-site history quiz treasure hunt in sequence.

During the anti-corruption integrity lecture, a specialist gave talks on the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and the Code of Conduct, followed by group discussions and an integrity pledge ceremony.

At the Hyochangwon on-site tour, a cultural guide from the Yongsan Cultural Center explained the history of Hyochangwon and stories of the patriots buried in Hyochang Park in an easy-to-understand manner.

Jang Su-yeon, a civil affairs officer from the Civil Affairs Passport Division who participated in the exploration, said, “Issuing documents requested by residents is my main task, so I haven’t had many opportunities to explore the local area. Visiting Uiyeolsa Shrine and touring Hyochangwon helped me understand the essence of Yongsan as a city of patriotic martyrs and gave me a renewed appreciation of the value of integrity.”

The district held a proclamation ceremony for ‘Yongsan, City of Patriotic Martyrs’ on April 12 at the outdoor stage of Hyochang Park, one day after the anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

This was to newly highlight the value of Yongsan, the center of modern Korean history and a place marked by the pain of Japanese colonial invasion, and to present the direction that Korea should take the lead in promoting international cooperation for peacekeeping.

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun of Yongsan-gu said, “The cultural exploration will have greatly helped new public officials establish a proper public service perspective. I hope the new employees will become a solid cornerstone for spreading a culture of integrity.”

Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) will hold a family festival event called ‘Reply Dobong Kkaebi!’ on May 20 from 2 PM to 8 PM at the Dobong-gu Citizens’ Hall plaza, offering fun for the whole family in celebration of Family Month.

Hosted by the Dobong-gu Family Center, this event commemorates International Day of Families on May 20 and Couples Day on May 21, providing an opportunity to experience world cultures and foster communication between couples.

The event is divided into two parts: a pre-event and the main event. Part 1 (2 PM to 6 PM) features experience booths, exhibition booths, a flea market, and food zones.

At the booths, participants can share awareness about multicultural experiences, low birthrate awareness, and child abuse prevention. The human rights exhibition showcases works by multicultural families. Attendees can enjoy nostalgic games like ‘Dalgona Game’ and ‘Mugunghwa Flower Has Bloomed,’ try on traditional costumes from various countries, visit the couple photo studio, and participate in family games.

Part 2 (6:30 PM to 8:30 PM) includes bilingual congratulatory performances, a sing-along dance with Dooly, a sparkling magic show, an opening ceremony, light and shadow performances, the Dobong Kkaebi dance party, and prize draws.

Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu said, “Through this Reply Dobong Kkaebi festival, I hope families express gratitude to each other and that the local community and residents gain a better understanding of diverse family forms.”

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) will hold the ‘4th Intercultural Festival’ on May 20.

Guro-gu announced on the 18th, “Every year on May 20, World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, we have held the Guro-gu Intercultural Festival to spread awareness of intercultural understanding in the community and create a harmonious intercultural city where both domestic and foreign residents can enjoy together.”

This year’s fourth festival, themed ‘Guro, an Intercultural City Made and Enjoyed Together,’ will be broadcast online via YouTube at 3 PM. Anyone interested can watch by searching ‘Guro-gu Intercultural Festival’ on YouTube.

The festival will open with a promotional video created by domestic and foreign residents featuring local tourist spots such as Gocheok Sky Dome and Cheonwangsan Book Shelter, followed by an opening performance, a commendation ceremony for distinguished domestic and foreign residents, and other commemorative events. A fashion show of traditional costumes from 19 countries and various resident participation videos selected through contests will also be screened.

Prior to the festival, Guro-gu solicited resident participation videos from domestic and foreign residents and foreign-related organizations in the area. Contest categories included ‘My Golden Recipe,’ ‘Intercultural Acrostic Poem,’ ‘Sing Together,’ ‘Eco-friendly Plogging Campaign,’ and ‘60-second Intercultural Film Festival,’ with many excellent works selected.

A Guro-gu official said, “We hope this event will provide an opportunity for domestic and foreign residents to better understand and communicate with each other. We will continue to do our best to create a happy intercultural city where residents of diverse cultures and nationalities can all thrive.”

Gwanak-gu announced that on the 4th it held a ‘Cultural City Promotion Committee Meeting’ at the Gwanak-gu Cultural City Center, involving administration, residents, and experts to promote the creation of a cultural city.

The ‘Gwanak-gu Cultural City Promotion Committee’ is a body that discusses major matters related to the district’s cultural city initiatives. Established in February last year with 15 members including residents, cultural and artistic groups, and experts, it plays a central role in collaborative cultural city governance.

At the meeting, committee members, Cultural City Center staff, and district officials gathered to discuss strategies for responding to the 5th Cultural City designation public contest by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and to establish a cultural city creation plan.

In particular, they conducted in-depth discussions on core cultural city projects that reflect the district’s unique characteristic of having the highest proportion of young population nationwide, aiming to represent ‘Gwanak as a Gateway City for Youth.’

The district plans to submit the cultural city creation plan by June to apply for the 5th Cultural City designation contest.

After document evaluation and on-site review, if selected as a preliminary cultural city, Gwanak-gu will conduct a one-year preliminary project and aims to be finally designated as a statutory cultural city by October 2023.

To this end, the district is building cultural city governance including the Cultural City Promotion Committee, Cultural City Administrative Council, Public-Private Cooperation Council, and Gwanak-gu Cultural City Center, striving to create a cultural city together with residents.

Hong Sung-woon, chairman of the Cultural City Promotion Committee, expressed, “Referring to the guidelines of the 5th Cultural City Creation Plan announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2022, we plan to continue cultural city projects that strengthen residents’ proactive activities and create a unique urban brand for Gwanak-gu.”

Nowon-gu has taken proactive steps to protect public officials who handle civil complaints at the frontline of public administrative services and to create a safe working environment.

On the 17th, a mock drill simulating verbal abuse and property damage caused by malicious complainants was conducted at the civil affairs office on the first floor of the district office, attended by civil affairs officials, safety personnel, and representatives from Nowon Police Station.

Due to the frequent occurrence of emergency situations such as verbal abuse and assault by unusual complainants in the civil affairs office, the drill aimed to protect officials exposed to danger and prevent secondary damage to visiting complainants.

The drill focused on verifying whether the response team’s role division was systematically carried out according to the prepared manuals for each situation, checking the proper operation of emergency bells, and the police dispatch status from the local police station. The emergency bell call scenario was conducted realistically with cooperation from Nowon Police Station to enhance the training effect.

The district enacted an ordinance in April this year to protect civil affairs officials and has established and implemented a detailed response plan.

When damage occurs due to malicious complainants, the department head first protects the affected official, grants rest time, and reports to the Administrative Support and Personnel teams.

Upon receiving the report, an emergency response team composed of the heads of Administrative Support, Personnel, Audit Service Team, and Legal Statistics Team conducts on-site investigations, counseling for affected employees, deployment of protective personnel, and legal consultations.

The district links professional psychological counseling for the physical and mental healing and recovery of affected employees and supports medical expenses if necessary. If malicious complaints occur or are anticipated, protective personnel can be requested and provided for a certain period.

At the same time, the district includes malicious complaint response training in the education courses for civil affairs officials and new employees to prevent damage in advance.

This ordinance and response plan apply equally to public officials, public workers, and fixed-term workers at the district office. The district expects this system to be highly effective against malicious and chronic complaints experienced by officials and workers at civil complaint sites.

Gangnam-gu’s ‘Paperless Smart Administrative Service and Intelligent Chatbot Project’ was finally selected on the 11th as a dissemination case for the ‘2022 Resident Life Innovation Case Dissemination Support Project’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety discovered 510 excellent cases of local governments innovating residents’ lives last year and selected 34 final cases through a first document screening, a second public preference survey, and a third expert on-site verification. Gangnam-gu’s project, which provides smart administrative services using ICT through the mobile app ‘The Gangnam,’ was selected in the ‘Resident Life Close to You’ category.

Since 2020, the district has implemented mobile number tickets and pre-issuance of civil documents, 24-hour chatbot civil consultation, non-face-to-face electronic civil services, COVID-19 living support fund applications, PCR test result confirmation, and self-quarantine notice issuance via the app, realizing an ontact administration that allows anyone to conveniently use administrative services anytime and anywhere in the post-COVID era.

Notably, Gangnam-gu was the first local government to introduce electronic contracts in civil services with its ‘Non-face-to-face Electronic Civil Service,’ handling various complaints such as illegal parking enforcement, improving convenience for complainants and work efficiency for officials. The ‘Gangnam Bot,’ which offers 24-hour chat consultation, also applied voice recognition technology to provide convenience for digitally marginalized groups.

Yoon Jong-min, director of the Smart City Division, said, “‘The Gangnam’ offers various life-oriented mobile services, and we plan to actively support their expansion to more local governments. Gangnam-gu will continue to build and share advanced administrative systems befitting an ‘Ontact Leader’ and share the benefits received with society.”

From the 21st, the Baejae Hakdang History Museum in Jung-gu will hold a Korean modern music performance titled ‘Jeongdong Seen Through Music 2022.’

‘Jeongdong Seen Through Music 2022’ is part of the Saengsaeng Cultural Heritage project hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration. It creates cultural heritage enjoyment programs by combining the historical meaning and value inherent in cultural properties with local resources for residents to experience as cultural content. This year, Professor Min Kyung-chan of Korea National University of Arts will present restored Korean modern music from the late Joseon period.

The performances, directed by cultural planner Lee Seung-mook with commentary by Professor Min Kyung-chan, will be held four times until October. No advance reservation is required; anyone can watch on-site.

Main performers include next-generation vocalists from the Korea National University of Arts College of Music such as sopranos Lim Chae-min and Lee Ye-won, tenor Lee Hee-chang, and baritone Hwang Ju-seok. This year’s opening will be especially notable with performances by the citizen choir Seoul Jung-gu Women’s Song Choir ‘Kkachisori’ and the Seoul Jung-gu Youth Orchestra.

The first performance on the 21st, themed ‘140th Anniversary of Korea-US Diplomatic Relations Concert,’ will be held on the lawn of the Baejae Hakdang History Museum in Jeongdong. It will mainly feature music related to the US to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the 1882 Korea-US Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation.

The second performance on June 8 is themed ‘Appenzeller and Baejae Hakdang.’ ‘Baejae Hakdang’ was the first modern private school in Korea, founded in 1885 by American missionary Appenzeller. The performance will recreate modern music played and sung at Baejae Hakdang at that time. This year marks the 120th anniversary of Appenzeller’s martyrdom, making the event even more meaningful.

The third performance scheduled for September 14 is themed ‘Jeongdong and Women.’ It will feature works by musicians from Ewha Hakdang, reflecting on Jeongdong’s historical significance and the lives of modern women. ‘Ewha Hakdang’ was Korea’s first private girls’ school, established in Jeongdong in 1886 by American female missionary Mary Fletcher Benton Scranton.

The final performance on October 15 will be held at the fountain in front of Seokjojeon Hall at Deoksugung Palace, titled ‘Singing the Korean Empire,’ featuring music from the Korean Empire period.

Yangcheon Cultural Foundation announced that on the 19th it will hold the ‘One Theme Reading Together Project’ launch ceremony called ‘Book of the Year’ at Sinwol Music Library.

The ‘One Theme Reading Together Project’ is a resident participation reading culture project based on public libraries in Yangcheon-gu, involving education office libraries, school libraries, and small libraries to read and discuss together. Libraries and resident councils select themes and books, and operate various reading culture programs throughout the year centered on the selected books.

The Yangcheon resident council consists of resident representatives and school library staff active in the Sinwol, Sinjeong, and Mokdong areas, centered on Yangcheon-gu Office and public libraries.

This year’s reading themes were chosen as ‘Recovery from the tiring daily life due to COVID-19’ and ‘Taking care of mind and emotions amid change.’ Related books selected for different life stages include four titles: for children, the picture book ‘Mind Spring’; a fairy tale book ‘Lane 5’; a youth book ‘The Work of the Lake’; and for adults, ‘Can Emotions Become Design?’

The ‘Book of the Year’ launch ceremony will be held at 4 PM on the 19th on the 4th floor of Sinwol Music Library, inviting Lee Hyun, author of the youth book ‘The Work of the Lake,’ for a session of communication with the audience. Lee, known for works like ‘Blue Lion Wanini’ and ‘Jjajangmyeon is Blowing,’ which resonate across generations, plans to offer a sincere reflection time to understand and comfort each other’s lives.

Additionally, Yangcheon Cultural Foundation will run various programs throughout the year linked to the selected books at public libraries, small libraries, school libraries, and education office libraries, covering all generations. Key programs include ▲Meet the Author ▲Original Picture Book Exhibition ▲Photo Zone Journey into Books ▲Between Books and Music (Music and Recitation) ▲Visiting One Book (Public Daycare Centers) ▲Reading Clubs ▲Thinkers’ Reading Discussions.

Moreover, this year, through a consortium with local bookstores in Yangcheon-gu, a reading culture community reflecting new perspectives will be established to spread reading culture throughout the local community.

For more details about the ‘2022 Yangcheon-gu One Theme Reading Together’ project, please refer to the Yangcheon Public Library website or contact Sinwol Music Library.