[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Establishes Total of 47 ‘Smart Shelters’ Including ‘Small Smart Shelters’ at Senior Centers and Cultural Facilities for Heatwave-Vulnerable Groups; Provides Heatwave Relief Shelters and Welfare Checks for Vulnerable Populations; Operates Comprehensive Heatwave Response Support Center, Emergency Shelter for Homeless, and Heatwave Safety Accommodations... Dongjak-gu Installs Refreshing ‘Cooling Fog’ Along Dorimcheon to Beat the Heat... Guro-gu Creates Smart Crime Prevention Safe Streets... Dongdaemun-gu Trains Self-Sustaining Influencers
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) has prepared 241 everyday cooling spots to escape the heat and has begun full-scale operation.
Including 160 senior centers and all 17 community centers, along with 7 welfare facilities such as welfare centers and welfare halls, and 10 cultural facilities including libraries and Chaekmaru, a total of 28 ‘Seongdong-type Smart Shelters’ are also operated as heat shelters.
Especially this year, 19 newly installed ‘small smart shelters’ are also operated as ‘heat shelters,’ securing as many outdoor spaces as possible for public transportation use and frequently visited places by residents, thus creating everyday cooling spots.
The ‘small smart shelter’ is a model containing only the essential functions of the ‘Seongdong-type Smart Shelter,’ which Seongdong-gu introduced nationwide for the first time. It provides functions such as heating and cooling, public WiFi, and services like mobile phone and wired/wireless charging. Despite its small size, it cools the heat more effectively during heatwaves.
Accordingly, electric blinds and vertical blinds with remote control, heat-blocking films, and wind visors (non-powered windmills that help internal air circulation) are installed inside to physically block sunlight and maximize cooling efficiency. Together with the ‘Seongdong-type Smart Shelter,’ residents can avoid heatwaves and tropical nights in everyday life.
Earlier, the district prepared the ‘2022 Comprehensive Heatwave Countermeasure’ (May 2022) and operates the ‘Heatwave Countermeasure Comprehensive Support Situation Room,’ continuously promoting heatwave preparedness guidelines and conducting preventive education through various media.
They conduct welfare checks for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled, and for homeless protection, a separate ‘Homeless Emergency Rescue Team’ (2 teams, 7 members) is organized to conduct day and night patrols during heatwave warnings.
Since April, the district has installed and operated a total of 145 ‘heat shade tents’ at crosswalks and roadsides prone to heat island effects due to lack of shade. It has also signed agreements with three local hotels and lodging facilities to provide heatwave safety accommodations from mid-July for elderly residents with vulnerable living conditions or mobility difficulties.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “This summer is expected to have higher temperatures than usual, so we have prepared various heatwave countermeasures such as heat shelters to prevent damage to residents. We will continue to do our best to provide convenient and safe life-close services near daily life.”
Shindaebang 1-dong in Dongjak-gu has the advantage of being located near both a station area and a water area. Line 2’s Shindaebang Station is located here, and Dorimcheon Stream flows past Shindaebang Station.
The district has consistently made efforts to create a pleasant waterfront cultural space. It has focused on creating spaces where residents can rest and enjoy leisure along the waterway, as well as neighborhood walking paths and sports facilities.
Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) started by revitalizing the bleak underpasses with pillar landscape lighting and floor gobos symbolizing Dongjak-gu at the waterfront plaza through the Dorimcheon nighttime landscape lighting improvement project. They also created walking paths along Dorimcheon, installed restrooms and drinking fountains, maintained wooden decks, sports facilities, and flower beds, and planted trees on the slopes of the walking paths.
Furthermore, on the 10th, a fog-type cooling water system called ‘Cooling Fog’ was installed on the embankment walking path of Dorimcheon.
This system was prepared to prevent discomfort from the heat for residents visiting Dorimcheon. It sprays fine water particles through mist (fog) nozzles, lowering the surrounding temperature by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius without wetting the ground or people, thereby alleviating heat island effects and reducing fine dust and ozone concentrations.
The operating condition is an automatic system that runs for 15 minutes, stops for 5 minutes, and then runs again for 15 minutes during heatwaves when the urban temperature is 29°C or higher.
It operates daily from 11 a.m. to midnight from June to September and stops automatically when humidity is 75% or higher (during rain), operating flexibly according to weather conditions.
Kim Sang-hoon, Director of the Flood Control Division, said, “We will do our best to maintain Dorimcheon as a safe and pleasant space for residents in preparation for summer heatwaves.”
Meanwhile, Dorimcheon is one of the pilot sites for the so-called ‘Seoul-type Waterfront Sensibility City’ project, which transforms small streams and tributaries flowing throughout Seoul into rest and cultural attractions. Plans include creating terraces and rest areas to enjoy food and culture together.
Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) is promoting the Smart Crime Prevention Safe Street project centered on Guro 2 and 4-dong areas.
Guro-gu announced on the 14th, “We have been selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Basic Infrastructure Creation Project for Foreign Resident Areas’ this year and will install ‘CCTV Smart Poles’ mainly in areas with a high proportion of foreign residents and densely populated residential areas.”
Previously, the district was selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘2021 Smart City Solution Expansion Project’ and has installed and operated 81 ‘CCTV Smart Poles’ at 18 locations in Guro 2 and 4-dong. With this additional installation, they plan to strengthen crime prevention in the area more thoroughly.
The ‘CCTV Smart Pole’ is installed on side streets in residential areas to enhance local safety networks by preventing crime and deterring illegal dumping. It combines various functions on a single pole, including intelligent CCTV, IoT LED security lights, illegal dumping deterrent cameras, emergency bells, and logo projectors.
Guro-gu is investing a total of 600 million KRW, including 300 million KRW in national funds, to install 96 units at 21 locations such as residential areas and side streets in Guro 2 and 4-dong. The district selected installation sites in cooperation with Guro Police Station, focusing on women’s safe return paths, areas with frequent 112 emergency calls, and habitual illegal dumping sites.
A Guro-gu official said, “We expect that the previously dangerous alleys will be reborn as Smart Crime Prevention Safe Streets with this ‘CCTV Smart Pole’ installation. We will continue to do our best to make Guro a safe city.”
Meanwhile, Guro-gu has built and is operating a total of 153 ‘Guro-type Smart Poles’ in four types based on geographic and demographic characteristics.
In addition to the newly installed ‘CCTV Smart Poles,’ they have installed ‘Streetlight Smart Poles’ on major roads and intersections with heavy traffic and pedestrian flow, ‘Integrated Safety Smart Poles’ in school zones to protect children, and ‘Multifunctional Integrated Smart Poles’ in famous sections such as the Guro Ollegil and Anyangcheon.
Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) operates the ‘Influencer Growth Support Program,’ which provides e-commerce education for career-interrupted women and youth.
The ‘Influencer Growth Support Program’ is an all-in-one program that includes e-commerce education using SNS such as Instagram, blogs, and live commerce, as well as on-site training.
From last year to the first half of this year, a total of 50 graduates were discovered through the 1st to 3rd influencer growth support programs, producing over 750 promotional contents matched with small business owners needing publicity.
Notably, Choi Mi-ri, a graduate of the 1st influencer growth support program, won first place in the 30-second video review contest ‘TamTamTam Challenge’ held by the coffee specialty store Tom N Toms, earning an opportunity to appear as a daily host on Tom N Toms live commerce as a prize.
The district plans to support the 4th batch participants to independently create digital content, grow their brands, and realize wealth creation, just like previous graduates.
Residents wishing to participate as the 4th influencer can apply by the 30th through the Dongdaemun Social Economy Center website notice or Google Form. Final candidates will be selected through document and face-to-face evaluations in July, with the final announcement on July 15. For details, contact the Social Economy Center Project Team 2.
A district official said, “We hope that residents participating in this program will strengthen their competitiveness by producing content themselves and create synergy by combining with Dongdaemun-gu’s commercial infrastructure. We will continue to activate online e-commerce through influencer training and competitiveness enhancement and make Dongdaemun-gu a city where youth want to come.”
On June 3, during the 3rd influencer program lectures in 2022, the first live commerce practice was conducted on Naver Shopping Live for a total of 4 hours, selling products from four Dongdaemun-gu companies and recording total sales of 2.6 million KRW. Live commerce broadcasts by the 3rd influencer batch will be held on June 16 and July 7 through Degandeme Naver Smart Store.
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