Nowon-gu Outing Market 'Ma·Deul·Jang' Held

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu to Hold Eco-Friendly Ecological Market at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park on 11th from 11 AM to 5 PM ... Gwanak-gu to Expand Public Jobs in Second Half to Revitalize Local Economy ... Dongdaemun-gu Hosts Healing Walk Challenge ... Dobong-gu Creates Barefoot Healing Forest Trail in Choansan Neighborhood Park ... Seongbukcheon Barammadang Temporary Screening Clinic to Suspend Operations from June 13

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) will hold the ‘Madeuljang, an outing market where you meet the village’ featuring stories of the village, ecology, and residents.

‘Ma.Deul.Jang’ is an event held 4 to 6 times a year to connect ecological production and consumption between urban and rural areas, featuring ▲exhibition and sale of urban farmers’ garden produce and handicrafts ▲providing various performance opportunities for residents to showcase their talents.

Since its inception in 2014, Madeuljang has received great responses from residents. Due to COVID-19 prevention measures, it was scaled down and held online, but with recent easing of social distancing, it has returned to its original form to welcome residents.

This time, ‘Ma.Deul.Jang’ will be held on June 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park (508 Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu).

The market is divided into three main zones. First, ▲the ‘Madeuljang Water Playground’ where children can cool off with ‘Cool Mist (water mist) Zone’ and ‘Water Gun Play’ tailored for summer. ▲At the special agriculture booth, visitors can find various specialty products grown by farmers and handicrafts made by local residents. Fifteen urban farmers and agricultural processing teams and 20 handicraft teams are expected to participate.

Lastly, ▲the event zone will give 500g of fluffy new potatoes to the first 100 visitors. Eligible participants are those who donate at least one unused reusable shopping bag or three paper shopping bags from home or use their personal shopping bags within Madeuljang.

The collected reusable bags and paper shopping bags will be distributed free of charge to sellers to replace plastic bags.

‘Ma.Deul.Jang’ continues sales without disposable cups and plastic, using newspapers, flyers, and scrap cloth instead. Although it may be slightly inconvenient, the aim is to promote a culture that cares for the Earth.

For more details about the event, contact the Nowon Eco Center.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Please show great interest in Ma.Deul.Jang, where you can enjoy water play with children and purchase trustworthy eco-friendly agricultural products,” adding, “We will continue to strive to provide various opportunities for residents to purchase safe and healthy food.”

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) is recruiting 480 participants for the ‘2022 Second Half Gang Gam-chan Gwanak-type Livelihood Stability Jobs’ to support low-income groups, vulnerable employment groups, and unemployed people facing economic difficulties for livelihood and employment stability.

Originally planned only for the first half of this year, the project was extended to the second half with an additional supplementary budget, recognizing the need to expand job projects as a social safety net for Gwanak-gu residents facing economic hardship.

The district provided 1,440 public jobs in the first half of this year and will significantly expand the plan for the second half, offering 480 Gang Gam-chan Gwanak-type Livelihood Stability Jobs, 430 Seoul Citizen Safety Jobs (public work), and 31 community jobs, totaling 941 jobs.

The ‘2022 Second Half Gang Gam-chan Gwanak-type Livelihood Stability Jobs’ recruitment is open to any Gwanak-gu resident aged 18 or older with the ability to work as of the project start date.

A total of 480 people will be recruited (100 youth, 200 under 65, 180 over 65). Extra points will be given to residents who lost jobs or closed businesses due to COVID-19, and comprehensive screening will consider assets, income, and participation history.

Working hours are five days a week, 3 to 5 hours per day (5 hours for youth and under 65, 3 hours for over 65). Various benefits such as enrollment in four major insurances, paid holidays, and weekly/monthly allowances will be provided.

Residents wishing to participate should check the district website (News → Recruitment Announcements) from June 9 to 6 p.m. on June 15, bring required documents, and apply in person at their local community service center.

Selected participants will be assigned to ▲district office departments ▲community service centers ▲local elementary, middle, and high schools ▲multi-use facilities (such as Gwanak Cultural Foundation and Gwanak-gu Facilities Management Corporation) based on preferred work location, experience, and health status, performing tasks such as life quarantine and safety, public service support, and environmental maintenance.

The project period is three months from August 22 to November 21, and final selected candidates will be contacted individually starting August 16.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “We will do our best to provide public jobs to residents economically affected by COVID-19 to mitigate employment shocks, stabilize residents’ lives, and revitalize the local economy.”

Dongdaemun-gu (District Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is conducting the ‘Dongdaemun-gu Healing Walkway Challenge’ until July 6 to promote healthy daily life recovery.

The ‘Dongdaemun-gu Healing Walkway Challenge’ encourages residents to walk along the local walking paths to practice walking exercise in daily life and promote health.

The challenge, which started on the 7th, runs for one month until July 6 using the mobile walking app ‘WalkOn’. Any Dongdaemun-gu resident can participate, and the courses include three routes: ‘Jeongneungcheon Trail’, ‘Baebongsan Dullegil’, and ‘Jungnangcheon Trail’.

To participate, install and run the mobile walking app ‘WalkOn’, select ‘Dongdaemun-gu Challenge’, press ‘Join’, and walk the designated course. After achieving 80% or more, press ‘Submit’ to complete participation. Note that mobile data and location services must be enabled before walking.

Additionally, to encourage participation, the district plans to provide mobile vouchers worth 5,000 KRW by lottery after the challenge ends. For more details, contact the Dongdaemun-gu Office Sports Promotion Division.

A district official said, “We hope residents enjoy walking exercise and improve their health through walking the trails,” adding, “We will do our best to provide various health promotion programs so that residents exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic can regain vitality of body and mind and recover a healthy daily life.”

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Lee Dong-jin) newly created a barefoot trail about 1 km long within the Healing Forest Trail at Choansan Neighborhood Park (Changdong San 183) earlier this month.

The ‘Healing Forest Trail’ consists of not only a walking path but also connecting decks, pine scent forest, forest healing decks, pine forest healing rest area, observation decks, and forest stage, allowing residents to experience the forest with all five senses and skin.

With this new development, a 20m red clay barefoot trail and a 220m loess barefoot trail were established, along with a 760m walking path and a healing center.

Especially, the red clay and loess barefoot trails are close to the park entrance, making it easy for elderly and weak people to walk. The previously disconnected forest paths are now connected by red clay paths, barefoot trails, wooden stairs, and wooden bridges, passing through a pine tree cluster to enhance the forest bathing effect.

Dobong-gu Mayor Lee Dong-jin said, “As more people seek healthy outdoor activities and forest bathing gains popularity, we have newly introduced a barefoot trail within the Healing Forest Trail where people can feel nature and improve health near their homes. I hope families walk together at Choansan and heal their mind and body.”

Seongbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) will close the temporary COVID-19 screening clinic located at Barammadang on Seongbukcheon from June 13.

Considering the downgrade of COVID-19 infectious disease classification and the decreasing number of tests, the district decided to stop operating temporary screening clinics except for the public health center.

The Barammadang temporary screening clinic, installed and operated since December 2020 to preemptively block local COVID-19 spread, was located near the riverside walking path with heavy foot traffic and was visited by many citizens for testing. However, the number of tests has gradually decreased, with an average of about 82 tests per day as of the end of last month.

Meanwhile, the Seongbuk-gu Public Health Center COVID-19 screening clinic continues testing as usual. The health center screening clinic operates on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (disinfection time from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) and on weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. without separate disinfection time.