Opening of ‘Wondangmaeul Hanok Library’ in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu

[Seoul Autonomous District News] Dobong-gu, Project Budget 4.335 Billion KRW, Total Floor Area 348.24㎡, Single-Story, Traditional Hanok Style with Courtyard and Veranda, Surrounded by Rich Historical and Cultural Resources such as Wondangsaem Park, Yeonsangun Tomb, Princess Jeongui's Tomb, Ginkgo Tree, and Kim Su-young Literature Museum... Gangnam Ingwang Hosts Online '2023 College Entrance Exam Guide' Briefing... Seodaemun-gu Holds Comprehensive Measures Report Meeting to Improve Quality of Life for Single-Person Households... Jungnang-gu Recruits Students for 2nd Phase Cooperative Governance School Basic Education... Eunpyeong-gu Hosts '2022 Human Rights Awareness Enhancement'...

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) opened the traditional culture-specialized library 'Wondang Village Hanok Library' in Banghak-dong on the 27th.

Wondang Village Hanok Library is located at 17, Haedeung-ro 32ga-gil, Dobong-gu, right next to Wondangsaem Park. The basic plan was established in 2020, construction began in March this year, and with a total project cost of about 4.3 billion KRW, it was built as a one-story building with a total floor area of 348.24㎡.

The Wondang Village Hanok Library was designed in the traditional hanok architectural style, consisting of three rooms (children's materials room, office, program room), a central garden, front yard, backyard, and a wooden veranda (toemaru). Although it is a single-story building, it embodies the dignity and charm of traditional hanok, creating a unique library landscape.

The entire structure, including the materials room, is open to allow communication with the surrounding scenery. Visitors can sit on the toemaru and read or rest quietly as if reading a book in a tranquil hanok. Sitting on the chair, the atmosphere of Wondangsaem Park and the greenery of the courtyard (jungjeong) come with the scent of wood.

The initial collection holds about 4,200 books, with plans to increase the collection to a total of 20,000 volumes in the future.

As a traditional culture-specialized library, it plans to operate traditional culture programs such as humanities lectures, cultural and artistic experiences, and exhibitions in connection with neighboring historical and cultural resources like Wondangsaem Park, Yeonsangun's Tomb, Princess Jeongui's Tomb, the ginkgo tree, and the Kim Su-young Literature Museum.

About 200 people, including Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, members of the National Assembly, city and district council members, and local residents, attended the opening ceremony held on May 27. The ceremony began with a traditional military band performance at Wondangsaem Park, followed by commemorative speeches, progress reports, a plaque unveiling ceremony, and facility tours.

Mayor Lee Dong-jin said, "Wondang Village Hanok Library, the eighth public library in Dobong-gu, has the motto of 'a library connecting times and generations, a library reading the future from the fountain of wisdom, and a library where people come together.' We hope it will become a library that connects residents like the tiles of a hanok roof, using Wondangsaem as a fountain of wisdom to open the future by empathizing across generations and reflecting on tradition and history."

Currently, Wondang Village Hanok Library in Banghak-dong is in pilot operation until June 30. During the pilot operation, it is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. After official operation begins, it will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. The library is closed every Tuesday.

Gangnam-gu operates the Internet CSAT Broadcast (hereinafter Gangnam Ingang) and held the online entrance exam briefing session ‘Everything about the 2023 College Entrance Exam’ to provide the latest university admission information to examinees and parents.

The briefing was conducted by releasing pre-recorded lectures online on the 23rd, and the lectures can be watched for free by anyone without membership registration through the Gangnam Ingang website and YouTube.

The main topics covered in this briefing included ▲Review of the 2022 academic year entrance exam and outlook for the 2023 college entrance exam ▲Admission preparation strategies when some general high schools introduce a credit system ▲Understanding the adjustment method for integrated CSAT scores for humanities and sciences.

Seven admission experts, including Lee Mangi, Director of Uway Education Evaluation Research Institute, conducted online lectures on 11 topics such as ▲Where is the 2023 entrance exam heading? ▲Analysis and countermeasures for essay screening ▲Regional base university application strategies ▲Major university comprehensive student record screening ▲Self-introduction letter strategies ▲Police academy and military academy admissions ▲Education and teacher college admissions ▲Arts and physical education admissions ▲Medical and pharmaceutical field admission strategies.

Gangnam-gu, as Korea’s representative ‘Ontact Leader,’ has been continuously providing customized admission information for examinees nationwide since the first online entrance exam briefing in 2020, receiving great responses.

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) recently held a ‘Comprehensive Support Measures Report Meeting for Single-Person Households’ at the district office planning situation room on the 30th to actively respond to the diverse policy demands of the single-person household era.

The meeting was chaired by Mayor Moon Seok-jin and attended by heads of 16 related departments. It proceeded in the order of ▲Seodaemun-gu single-person household statistics and survey interview report ▲Departmental single-person household support project reports ▲On-site support reports for single-person households ▲Reports on excellent overseas cases.

It was reported that currently, there are about 49,000 single-person households in Seodaemun-gu, accounting for 37.5% of all households.

According to the report, due to the area's characteristics with many universities, 54% of single-person households are young people in their 20s and 30s, followed by 23% elderly and 21% middle-aged.

Also, 36% of all single-person households in Seodaemun-gu are concentrated in Yeonhui-dong and Sinchon-dong near Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University, and the proportion of single-person households is high in Namgajwa 2-dong and Hong Eun 2-dong near Myongji University.

At the meeting, measures to support single-person households to maintain a healthy and safe independent life without isolation and to live together as members of society were discussed.

In particular, solutions to loneliness issues for single-person households beyond basic needs support, such as community and shared kitchen activation, were addressed.

Furthermore, excellent overseas cases such as Sweden’s communal housing, the U.S.’s retirement communities, and the U.K.’s loneliness policies were shared to discover specialized projects.

Previously, the district established a ‘Comprehensive Plan for Single-Person Household Support’ and is promoting various projects in four major areas: safety, health, isolation, and housing, under the vision of ‘Separately yet Together, a Happy City Seodaemun.’

Earlier this month, the ‘Seodaemun-gu Single-Person Household Support Ordinance’ was enacted to provide an institutional foundation for related policy promotion.

The district plans to continue discovering and promoting new related projects by forming the ‘Seodaemun-gu Single-Person Household Support Council’ composed of experts and single-person household residents.

Mayor Moon Seok-jin said, “Since the increase in single-person households is an irreversible trend, we will continue to promote various projects for their healthy and happy lives.”

Jungnang-gu is recruiting students for the 2nd term of the Cooperation School basic education to promote interest in cooperative governance and encourage residents’ participation in administration.

‘Cooperation’ refers to a district administration method where residents actively participate in all processes from policy decision to evaluation to solve community problems together. The district has been operating the Cooperation School for residents since last year to increase understanding of cooperation and strengthen regional solidarity.

The 2nd term Cooperation School aims to establish a continuous cooperative culture and mutual integration of activists through education. The basic education course provides time to learn the concept and cases of cooperation to understand what cooperation is. Subsequently, an advanced education course will select participants separately to discover cooperative activity leaders through group project research, workshops, and presentations on participation methods.

Participants can complete the course by attending more than 80% of the entire course or completing designated assignments. Graduates will receive additional points when selected as the 3rd term cooperation committee members scheduled to be active from 2023 to 2025.

The recruitment target is residents and workers in local businesses. The recruitment period is from the 30th to June 17, and applications can be submitted through the Jungnang-gu website’s citizen participation bulletin board or the 2nd term Cooperation School Google form.

Eunpyeong-gu is hosting the resident-participation human rights event ‘2022 Human Rights Contest’ to raise residents’ human rights awareness and create an opportunity to spread human rights culture.

The contest themes are ‘Human rights enhancement and protection of minorities and socially vulnerable groups’ and ‘Critical reflection on discrimination and hatred.’

The contest fields include ‘video, drawing, card news,’ and this year added ‘slogan,’ making a total of four categories. Last year’s contest had three categories.

Anyone interested in human rights can participate, either individually or in groups of up to three people.

Submissions must be sent by July 29 via email with an application form, personal information consent form, work description, and work file. Only one work per person or team is allowed, and duplicate submissions across categories are not permitted.

A total of 27 works will be selected and awarded, with total prize money of 3.75 million KRW. One grand prize and one excellence award will be selected in each of the four categories. Three encouragement awards will be selected in each of the ‘video, drawing, card news’ categories, and 10 in the ‘slogan’ category.

The selected works will be used in future human rights education, human rights festivals, and human rights campaigns held in Eunpyeong.

For further inquiries, check the announcements on the Eunpyeong-gu website.

An official said, “After the pandemic, social sensitivity to discrimination and hatred has increased, so this contest was prepared to promote a desirable human rights culture for social minorities. We hope the awarded works will serve as messengers to improve residents’ understanding and sensitivity toward human rights.”

Gangdong-gu is hosting the ‘Gangdong Miraeon Education UCC Contest’ on various topics such as ‘future education and future talents’ related to learning, career, and college admission.

This ‘Gangdong Miraeon Education UCC Contest’ is promoted to encourage students to explore their dreams and careers through various activities and grow as future talents. It is divided into ‘Children and Youth Division’ for elementary, middle, and high school students and ‘General Division’ for university students and above.

Anyone can participate regardless of region or age. Participation involves submitting videos and explanations on free topics related to education and learning, such as messages about nurturing future talents and future education, self-directed learning methods, smart school life, experiences with Gangdong-gu Future Education Innovation Center and Gangdong Miraeon programs, via email during the submission period (June 2 to July 1).

After submission, 153 works will be selected in the first internal screening (honorable mention), followed by a second final screening through online public voting and external judges’ evaluation.

The online public voting will be held on the integrated education portal ‘Gangdong Miraeon,’ where members can ‘like’ multiple excellent works.

Based on the judging criteria, awards will be given as follows: 3 grand prizes, 9 excellence awards, 21 encouragement awards, and 120 honorable mentions. Results will be announced in August on the Gangdong-gu website and the integrated education portal ‘Gangdong Miraeon.’

Winners will receive certificates and ‘Gangdong Bitsal Money,’ a local currency of Gangdong-gu. Winners residing outside Gangdong-gu will receive national tourism gift certificates.

The awarded works will be posted on the integrated education portal ‘Gangdong Miraeon’ and used as learning content and promotional materials. For details, check the announcements on the ‘Gangdong Miraeon’ website.