Dobong Culture and Arts Center Construction Passes Ministry of the Interior and Safety Central Investment Review

[Seoul District News] Dobong Culture and Arts Center with a total project cost of 45 billion KRW, basement 2 to ground 3 floors, total floor area 9,608.39㎡ including a large performance hall (580 seats), small performance hall (flexible, 150 seats), art education room, studio, etc... Yongsan-gu implements 2022 comprehensive flood and typhoon countermeasures... Dongjak-gu installs safety equipment free of charge to protect single-person households' living... Yeongdeungpo-gu recruits participants for ‘Sosanghan Online Store’... Jongno-gu 2022 Public Design Contest

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) announced on the 9th that the Dobong Culture and Arts Center construction project has passed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Local Finance Central Investment Review.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Central Investment Review is an administrative procedure that pre-verifies the feasibility of major investment projects by local governments to prevent indiscriminate investments and to operate finances soundly and productively.

With the passage of this Central Investment Review, the preliminary administrative procedures for the construction of the Dobong Culture and Arts Center have been completed. The district has remaining follow-up procedures such as urban planning decisions, prior review and deliberation of public architecture project plans, design competitions, and detailed design, with plans to start construction in 2024 and complete it in 2026.

The Dobong Culture and Arts Center construction project involves a total budget of 45 billion KRW (19.5 billion KRW from city funds, 25.5 billion KRW from district funds) to build a complex with a total floor area of 9,608.39㎡ on Changdong San 48-3, consisting of a large performance hall (580 seats), a small performance hall (flexible seating, 150 seats), art education rooms, studios, and more, spanning from two basement levels to three above ground floors.

So far, the district has consistently emphasized the necessity of building a ‘regional hub specialized cultural and arts facility’ in response to the increasing qualitative and quantitative cultural and artistic demands of residents, and the passage of this investment review is considered highly significant.

With the possibility of advancing the construction of the Culture and Arts Center, projects such as the ‘Seoul Arena’ and the ‘Global Music City Changdong Development’ are also expected to gain momentum.

Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “With the ‘Seoul Arena’ starting construction in the second half of this year and the ‘Dobong Culture and Arts Center’ becoming more tangible, the prestige of Dobong as a global music city will be further elevated. It won’t be long before Dobong-gu hosts large-scale performances by top-tier artists at the Seoul Arena alongside classical music, opera, and musicals at the Culture and Arts Center.”

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) has formed and started operating a Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (hereafter, Disaster Headquarters) to prepare for summer flood and wind disasters in 2022.

The district reorganized the disaster response manuals according to disaster situation stages based on this summer’s weather forecasts and officially began operations on May 15 after an opening ceremony on May 13.

The Disaster Headquarters is composed of a headquarters chief (mayor), deputy chief (vice mayor), controller (Director of Safety, Construction and Transportation Bureau), support cooperation officer (Director of Administrative Support Bureau), and 13 functional task forces. In case of disaster, each task force promptly responds with overall situation management, traffic measures, disaster publicity, emergency recovery, medical quarantine, administrative support, and more.

Depending on weather conditions, the district implements 24-hour emergency duty in stages: ▲Stage 1 - Caution (heavy rain advisory, typhoon advisory, strong wind advisory) ▲Stage 2 - Alert (heavy rain warning, flood advisory, typhoon warning, strong wind warning) ▲Stage 3 - Serious (flood warning, large-scale disaster occurrence, many displaced persons).

For 61 households at risk of flooding in the area, 61 care officials and 61 emergency support volunteers have been assigned respectively, and in dangerous situations such as heavy rain, household situations are shared in real time to ensure close management.

To respond to large-scale flooding and collapse accidents, an on-site command post is also operated. It consists of the district’s on-site situation room, emergency rescue control team, disaster management governance, and on-site recovery support team, handling situation management, damage recovery, briefings, and civil complaint consultations on-site as needed during disasters.

The district has completed pre-inspections of 121 flood-vulnerable areas and facilities as well as flood control equipment. In April, it established a public-private-military support cooperation system for rapid disaster recovery in partnership with nine organizations and companies including military units, the Korea Construction Equipment Association, and Daeseo Environment Co., Ltd.

For local weather information, residents can use the ‘Yongsan-gu Smart Flood Control System’ website. It provides customized local information such as weather warnings, rainfall, water levels at major Yongsan-gu (Han River) points, and shelter status, collected from the Korea Meteorological Administration and Ministry of Environment.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Anyone can borrow equipment such as water pumps and submersible pumps from their local community service center if needed,” and added, “The district will do its best to proactively respond to various unexpected situations during the summer to ensure that not a single accident occurs.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 10th that it will support safety equipment such as double door locks to create a safe residential environment for single-person households vulnerable to residential intrusion crimes.

The ‘Safety Equipment Support Project’ is a program that installs three types of safety equipment free of charge to prevent residential intrusion crimes and create a safe living environment for vulnerable groups such as single-person households.

The safety equipment consists of ▲‘Double Door Lock’ that prevents the front door from fully opening ▲‘Window Lock’ that prevents windows from being opened from outside ▲‘Portable Emergency Bell’ that alerts emergency situations through alarm sounds or emergency message transmission. However, the ‘Double Door Lock’ requires the building owner’s consent before installation.

The support targets are female single-person households and single-parent families living in rented or monthly lease housing, and this year, male single-person households have been newly added. Male single-person households must submit proof such as a police report confirming residential intrusion crime victimization.

Residents wishing to apply should prepare an application form, personal information consent form, resident registration certificate, and a copy of the lease contract and submit them via email to the person in charge. Applications will be accepted until the budget is exhausted. For more details, contact the Childcare and Women’s Division.

Additionally, the district supports ‘Voice Recognition Wireless Emergency Bells’ (photo) for stores operated by single women. In emergencies, pressing the button or shouting “Help me” into the emergency bell device sends a report to the integrated control center, and the police respond urgently.

Also, for men and women who have experienced or are at risk of gender violence such as stalking, the district provides a ‘Stalking Victim Emergency Support Set’ (▲‘Smart Doorbell’ that allows real-time monitoring of the front door via mobile phone ▲home CCTV ▲door opening sensor ▲police whistle) to strengthen security in daily living spaces.

The ‘Voice Recognition Wireless Emergency Bell’ and ‘Stalking Victim Emergency Support Set’ will be provided to recipients recommended and referred by the Dongjak Police Station.

Kim Ji-hyun, head of the Childcare and Women’s Division, said, “We expect this to help alleviate residents’ anxiety about crime in their living environment,” and added, “We will do our best to support single-person households so they can live safely.” Furthermore, the district operates a ‘Women’s Safe Return Home Scout’ service that accompanies women and youth returning home late at night. It can be used by applying through the district office situation room, the Ansim-i app, or the 120 Dasan Call Center.

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is recruiting 10 small business owners to participate in the ‘Yeongdeungpo Small and Strong Online Store’ program to strengthen digital marketing capabilities by July 10. ‘Yeongdeungpo Small and Strong Online Store’ is a project that supports small business owners in pioneering online sales channels and marketing operations through customized consulting. The district has been promoting this project since last year to help local small business owners, who are accustomed to offline sales, adapt to the rapidly changing distribution environment and market. This year’s support areas are divided into two: ▲‘Digital Marketing’ for entering the online market and ▲‘Crowdfunding’ support to showcase products online and raise funds from the public. The ‘Digital Marketing’ field supports 8 companies, and ‘Crowdfunding’ supports 2 companies. Small business owners can apply for the desired field without any self-payment and may apply for both fields, but only one field will be conducted after selection. Support is provided based on on-site consulting results for each company, and both fields offer basic marketing education. The ‘Digital Marketing’ field supports various sales channel development activities tailored to each company in a package form. It helps improve product promotion by supporting brand design production such as logos, business cards, and digital catalogs, as well as enhancing product content like photos and videos. The ‘Crowdfunding’ field provides comprehensive support from planning, screening, opening, to operation for crowdfunding by analyzing company products through consulting. Eligible applicants are small business owners with business locations in Yeongdeungpo-gu, with fewer than 10 regular employees in manufacturing, mining, construction, and transportation industries, and fewer than 5 in other industries. Interested small business owners can apply through the project website ‘Yeongdeungpo Makers.’ Final participants will be selected through screening based on project suitability, feasibility, and growth potential. Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “We hope this support project will help local small business owners struggling due to the economic downturn increase sales and revitalize the local economy,” and added, “We will continue to promote various projects to help small business owners improve adaptability to digital and non-face-to-face environment changes and seek new business opportunities.”

Jongno-gu is conducting the 2022 Public Design Contest ‘Value Jongno, Making Together’ and accepting online applications until August 5.

This contest, held for the first time this year under the theme ‘Making Public Spaces Together,’ invites anyone who cherishes and loves Jongno to participate in creating cultural and artistic spaces in daily life. Participants can take pride in seeing their ideas realized and contributing to shaping Jongno, while the district can rediscover neglected everyday spaces, making this a meaningful event.

There are no special qualification restrictions, and anyone interested can submit one work per person in the categories of ▲public facilities (rest facilities, nightscape facilities, street green facilities, environmental management facilities, etc.) and ▲public art (sculptures, art benches, etc.). Team participation is also allowed, limited to up to three members per team.

After judging, the final winners will be announced on August 31. A total of 15 works will be selected, including grand prize, excellence awards, and encouragement awards, with prize money up to 5 million KRW and the Jongno-gu Mayor’s Award.

The application process involves first applying online, then submitting the work panel in person. For more details, contact the Urban Design Division. Detailed information about the contest is also available on the district office website’s public notices page and the Jongno-gu blog.

Jongno-gu plans to actually produce one feasible work among the grand prize and excellence award winners this year. Furthermore, it intends to hold idea contests annually under new themes to create cultural and artistic spaces in daily life and encourage everyone to participate.

A district official said, “This is a user-centered participatory contest open to anyone who cherishes and loves Jongno,” and added, “We hope many people who wish to participate in designing easily usable facilities and installing public art that anyone can understand and appreciate will join.”