Gangdong-gu, Greenway Walking Contest & Summer Night Concert Held

[Seoul District News] Gangdong-gu: Enjoy a 1-hour walking course from 5:40 PM on the 9th, then watch a premium performance by Seoul Pops Orchestra and singer Noeul from 7:30 PM... Gangseo-gu: Operates ‘Gangseo Ttubokki Travel’ with cultural tourism guides... Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center runs a ‘Cultural Vacance’ program to beat the heat... Seocho-gu: Proactive mosquito control with ‘Lovebug’ campaign... Seodaemun-gu: Outdoor advertising inspection for flood and wind disaster preparedness... Dobong-gu: Participates in a health city cooperative forum to prevent secondhand smoke exposure.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] On the 9th, the ‘Gangdong Greenway Walking Contest & Summer Night Concert’ will be held at Iljasan Lawn Park to make a midsummer night special.

Sponsored by Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Soo-hee) and organized by the Gangdong-gu Sports Council, this event, which had been suspended due to COVID-19, is resuming after about three years, drawing greater interest and expectations from residents.

The event will begin with Part 1, the ‘Greenway Walking Contest,’ at 5:40 PM, followed by the ‘Summer Night Concert’ starting at 7:30 PM, featuring a classy classical performance by the Seoul Pops Orchestra and exquisite ballads by the four-member male vocal group Noeul.

The walking course, designed to support residents’ daily recovery through walking exercise and cultural-artistic healing, is a light one-hour stroll starting from Iljasan Lawn Square around early evening when the scorching sun fades, passing through Haemaji Square and the camping site, and returning to the starting point.

Before the walking contest begins, interesting events will welcome participants at the lawn square, enhancing the pre-event atmosphere. Performances by a Taekwondo demonstration team and health exercises by the Lee Gi-im Gymnastics Team, among other rich events that the whole family can enjoy together, are prepared.

Participation in the main event requires no prior registration; participants should gather at Iljasan Lawn Square by 5:40 PM on the event day wearing comfortable walking attire.

Lee Soo-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “I hope this event will be a time of comfort and healing for residents exhausted by the long COVID-19 period, and that families will create happy memories together. We will do our best to develop Gangdong-gu into a dignified city that will change for the better.”

A district official requested, “Since this is a large event held for the first time in over three years, many residents are expected to attend, so please pay special attention to safety. Parking spaces are limited, so please use public transportation rather than private cars.”

When visiting the event site by bus, get off at Iljasan Entrance or Dunchon Library stops, which connect directly to the event entrance. By subway, take Line 9 to Jungang Veterans Hospital Station, Exit 2, and walk about 5 minutes to reach the venue.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Tae-woo) announced that it will operate the ‘Gangseo Walking Tour’ with cultural tourism guides to explore local tourist attractions.

The purpose is to provide visitors with professional explanations about local landmarks and cultural resources, offering a high-quality tourism service.

The Gangseo Walking Tour operates three courses: the Heojun Museum Course, the Gyeomjae Jeongseon Art Museum Course, and the Gaehwasan Trail Course.

The Heojun Museum Course starts from Heojun Theme Street and visits Heojun Neighborhood Park, Heoga Rock, Heojun Museum, and the medicinal herb garden, allowing participants to experience the history of Korean traditional medicine and the footsteps of Guam Heojun.

The Gyeomjae Jeongseon Art Museum Course centers on the Gyeomjae Jeongseon Art Museum and includes visits to Soakru Pavilion, Gungsan Tunnel History Exhibition Hall, and Yangcheon Hyanggyo Confucian School, providing insights into local history and culture.

The Gaehwasan Trail Course offers a leisurely outdoor walk through Yaksa Temple, the beacon mound and observatory, barrier-free forest trail, and Banghwa Neighborhood Park, enjoying nature and history.

Tours run from Tuesday to Sunday every week, starting at 10 AM for about three hours. Reservations can be made up to seven days before departure via the Gangseo-gu Cultural Tourism website (homepage) under Tourism/Attractions - Cultural Tourism Guide Reservation.

There is no separate tour fee except for admission charges to museums and art galleries. However, if fewer than three people apply, the reservation may be canceled or the schedule changed.

More detailed information, including how to apply, can be found on the Gangseo-gu Office website (homepage) under Notices/News.

A district official said, “Our area has many little-known landmarks where history and culture coexist. We hope residents enjoy meaningful travels while learning about the region with cultural tourism guides.”

Herbal Foot Bath Experience Center

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center (Seoul Yakryeongsi Korean Medicine Museum) is operating a ‘Cultural Vacation’ in the city until August 31 to help tourists visiting the Korean Medicine Industry Special Zone Seoul Yakryeongsi forget the heat and enjoy a cool summer.

Resuming after three years since COVID-19, the ‘Cultural Vacation’ is a summer wellness program held during the hottest months of July and August, designed to let visitors experience herbal foot baths while drinking refreshing Korean medicine beverages.

The Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center has prepared its signature experience program, the ‘Herbal Foot Bath,’ as ‘Takjok,’ a traditional summer cooling method enjoyed by scholars in the past. The foot bath uses cool water mixed with mint foot bath agents to provide a refreshing sensation that helps beat the heat. While enjoying Takjok, participants can also create their own fans by engraving calligraphy on herbal picture fans.

The ‘Cultural Vacation’ experience costs 8,000 KRW per person and lasts about 30 minutes. Registration is available at the Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center information desk, and further details can be obtained by contacting the center.

Lee Pil-hyung, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “The Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center has prepared a summer wellness program for citizens struggling with the heat. We hope many people enjoy a healthy and cool summer with this cultural vacation in the city.”

The Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center (Seoul Yakryeongsi Korean Medicine Museum) also operates a ‘Book Talk with Korean Medicine Doctors’ lecture series every last Wednesday of the month at 3 PM, based on health books by Korean medicine doctors. On July 27, the topic will be ‘Miraculous Deep Muscle Stretching,’ and reservations can be made by phone.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced on the 7th that it is conducting preemptive pest control focused on residential alleys in the area to eradicate lovebugs (suspected to be cinnamon fly) that have rapidly appeared in various parts of the city recently.

Due to the recent summer heatwave and continuous rainy season, occurrences have been reported even in northwest Seoul. Lovebugs are about 1 cm in size, with black bodies and reddish backs, belonging to the fly insect family. Although they are not toxic or disease-carrying pests, their appearance causes disgust and they swarm in groups, causing inconvenience to residents.

To alleviate residents’ discomfort, the district will launch a large-scale pest control campaign with 117 Seocho mosquito guards. Lovebugs can be eradicated using the insecticides already used by mosquito guards. The district plans to conduct regular vehicle pest control at least once a week not only in places where complaints have been received but also in green areas and alleys where lovebugs are expected to appear, to block their spread.

Additionally, based on the mating and living habits of lovebugs, the district expects them to naturally disappear after the rainy season ends in late July. However, they will continue to monitor occurrences to minimize residents’ inconvenience until natural extinction.

Meanwhile, the ‘Seocho Mosquito Guard’ program was launched in June 2017 by Seocho-gu as the nation’s first initiative to resolve mosquito-related resident discomfort in summer pest control blind spots. Mosquito guards patrol small parks and alleys inaccessible to pest control vehicles, carrying 5-liter sprayers and insecticides on handcarts, contributing to the prevention of vector-borne infectious diseases such as mosquitoes.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “I appreciate the Seocho mosquito guards working hard on the front lines to eradicate pests and diseases that come with the summer heat. We will strengthen pest control activities in summer to protect residents’ health.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Sung-heon) announced on the 7th that it recently conducted ‘Preliminary Safety Inspections of Outdoor Advertisements’ and ‘Special Crackdown on Illegal Outdoor Advertisements’ to prevent safety accidents caused by concentrated summer heavy rains.

Through this, the district inspected 533 fixed advertisements including rooftop signs, protruding signs, wall-mounted signs, pole-mounted signs, and banner posting facilities.

With the cooperation of the Seoul Outdoor Advertising Association, the joints, bolt tightness, and corrosion status of signs were checked, and advertisers were guided to voluntarily maintain them if follow-up measures were necessary for safety.

Additionally, through special crackdowns, 2,605 illegal banners, 251 banners and standing signs, and 20,114 posters and similar materials were removed.

The district will continue to operate the ‘Illegal Advertisement Field Crackdown Team’ and immediately collect and impose administrative penalties such as fines on air lights (balloon signs) and others that threaten pedestrian passage and safety.

The Seodaemun Branch Disaster Prevention Team of the Seoul Outdoor Advertising Association will also continue patrolling to maintain old and dangerous signs left unattended for a long time due to business closures or relocations. Last December, the team pre-inspected and removed 79 such signs.

Lee Sung-heon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “We will continue to strive for the establishment of a desirable outdoor advertising culture to create a pleasant and safe urban environment. We ask advertisers, building owners, and merchants for active interest and cooperation to prevent damage caused by summer heavy rains and typhoons.”

Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eun-seok) is recruiting participants for the ‘Collaborative Public Deliberation Forum’ to create a ‘Healthy Dobong Free from Secondhand Smoke’ until July 15.

The collaborative public deliberation forum is a citizen deliberation budget project that selects issues based on residents’ daily inconveniences and works together to find solutions and reflect them in policies.

This forum, titled ‘Creating a Healthy Dobong Free from Secondhand Smoke’ with the theme ‘Tobacco, Pause Here for a Moment,’ will be held on July 22 from 2 PM to 5 PM at the Songseokdae Auditorium in Dobong Forest Village (54-14 Dobongsan-gil). It will collect various solutions and implementation plans from residents to foster a smoking cessation culture in no-smoking zones.

Any Dobong-gu resident interested in preventing secondhand smoke damage can participate. Applications can be submitted by sending the application form posted on the district website under Notices/Budget, Announcements/Public Notices to the person in charge via email.

Oh Eun-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “The purpose of this forum is to establish awareness and culture of strictly ‘no smoking’ in no-smoking zones. We hope various opinions will emerge to create a healthy Dobong free from secondhand smoke.”