9 New Air Bounce Water Playgrounds Opened in Nowon-gu

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu Offers Air Slides for the Whole Family, Medium and Large Air Pools of Various Sizes and Depths, and Changing Rooms... Seocho-gu Runs 'Seocho Summer School' for Summer Vacation... Yangcheon-gu Launches Youth Community Support Project 'Youth Challenge Project'... Gangseo-gu Holds 'KakaoTalk Channel Subscription Event'... Gwanak-gu Provides GPS-Equipped Wristwatches and Insoles to 52 People with Developmental Disabilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is helping residents enjoy a cool summer by opening nine additional air bounce-type ‘Neighborhood Water Playgrounds’ starting from the 26th of this month, following the opening of five water park-type ‘Park Water Playgrounds’ last month.

With the lifting of social distancing measures, neighborhood water playgrounds have returned after three years as summer retreats where the whole family can enjoy together. After a preparation period for each water playground this week, official operations will begin on the 26th.

The newly opened neighborhood water playgrounds are air bounce-type water playgrounds. They feature large pools and giant air slides that can accommodate many users, allowing visitors to enjoy water play in pools of various sizes and depths, more diverse than the already operating water park-type playgrounds.

The installation locations total nine sites: ▲Kwangwoon University Open-air Theater ▲Seoul National University of Science and Technology Playground ▲Induk University Basketball Court ▲Sunflower Children's Park ▲Jungpyeong Children's Park ▲Satgatbong Park ▲Sanggye Park ▲Galul Park ▲Open space next to Nowon Culture and Arts Center. The locations are distributed by district to maximize accessibility for residents.

The operation period for the water playgrounds is from July 26 to August 21 (Kwangwoon University Open-air Theater until August 14). They will operate even on the public holiday of Liberation Day, but will be closed on Mondays, August 1 and August 8.

Operating hours are from 10:00 AM to 4:50 PM. Each hour, the playground operates for 50 minutes followed by a 10-minute break, and it will not operate from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM for water quality management and user safety.

There is no separate usage fee, and both adults and children can use the facilities, but for safety, children under 7 years old must be accompanied by a guardian.

The facilities include basic air slides and pools, with additional air bounce pools installed depending on the space and situation of each water playground. Pools vary in size, including those for children, infants, and slide-only pools. To provide rest and convenience for users, shade shelters, changing rooms, restrooms, and operation headquarters are also installed.

To prevent possible safety accidents, pool depths are marked to establish usage standards. Three to four safety personnel are assigned at each water playground to monitor the number of users on facilities such as air slides and to guide orderly and safe use.

To maintain a pleasant environment, an appropriate amount of disinfectant is added to each pool, and large air pools are equipped with filters. Water quality will be managed by conducting water tests every two hours and replenishing water as needed.

Information on the locations of each water playground and other operational details can be found on the Nowon-gu Office website or the official Nowon-gu blog.

The district plans to strictly adhere to facility and operation rules to ensure that residents can enjoy water play safely and happily at a total of 14 locations, including the five water park-type ‘Park Water Playgrounds’ that began operation last month and the nine air bounce-type ‘Neighborhood Water Playgrounds’ opening this time.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “We are implementing various projects to help residents overcome the heat during the peak summer heatwave period. We have installed various water playgrounds throughout the neighborhood so you can enjoy water play without going far. I hope families have a joyful time together.”

Seocho-gu (District Mayor Jeon Seong-su) announced that it will operate the ‘2022 Seocho Summer School’ for local students during the upcoming summer vacation.

‘Seocho Summer School’ is a representative local specialized education project of the district that helps students emotionally recover from COVID-19 and provides opportunities for self-development. Now in its third year, it has prepared a package of three educational contents with high student satisfaction.

First, ‘2022 Home Delivery All-Class ? Summer! Da(Many) Dream’ is the flagship program of Seocho Summer School for kindergarten and elementary school students. Participants receive DIY educational kits delivered to their homes in advance and can experience them while watching educational videos. The kits cover three fields: ‘Creative Science,’ ‘Cultural History,’ and ‘Art and Craft,’ tailored to the target age group.

Main contents include ▲‘Tick-tock Clock Making’ (kindergarten students) to learn how to read time ▲‘Spin and Shine Electric Craft’ (lower elementary students) applying electric circuits ▲‘Remote Switch to Turn Off Lights While Lying Down’ (upper elementary students) using Bluetooth principles.

Educational videos will be released on the Seocho Innovation Education District YouTube channel on the 28th. Participants who share their participation in ‘Home Delivery All-Class’ on social media will receive generous gifts. Seocho-gu Education Support Center will recruit 2,000 kindergarten and elementary students on a first-come, first-served basis.

Second, the ‘2022 AI Coding Talent Development Project (1st term),’ a specialized education program to cultivate future leaders in preparation for the 4th Industrial Revolution, will be held at the Seocho Youth Center from July 21 to August 17.

Participants will be placed in three customized levels based on a simple level test and learn ▲Making electronic musical instruments through coding (beginner) ▲Creating smart cities using Micro:bit (photo· intermediate) ▲Making AI robotic arms using webcams (advanced). The program targets local students from 3rd grade elementary to 3rd grade middle school, with 124 participants accepted on a first-come, first-served basis via the Seocho-gu Education Support Center website.

The final program is ‘2022 Seoripul Media News Talk.’ Designed to help students interested in media and broadcasting production experience video shooting, editing, and news production, it supports students’ career paths in media and broadcasting fields.

The program runs every Wednesday from July 27 to August 24 at a studio in Seocho-gu, offering ▲studio tours ▲announcer training and broadcasting technology acquisition ▲media planning and production ▲local news coverage and filming ▲live news broadcasting.

Seocho District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, “We have prepared various special summer vacation education programs so that local youth can have a more enjoyable and meaningful summer vacation this year. We hope they take this opportunity for self-development in various fields such as creative arts, future science, and career exploration and grow further.”

Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Lee Ki-jae) is recruiting participants for the ‘2022 Yangcheon Youth Challenge Project’ community support program for youth until the 28th of this month.

The ‘Youth Challenge Project’ is a program designed to support young people’s fresh and diverse ideas, activate youth-led social participation, and contribute to the formation of healthy youth communities. Last year, seven projects such as ‘Yangcheon-gu Lifestyle-Oriented Landmark Promotion’ and ‘Yangcheon-gu Urban Climbing’ were selected and supported through this project.

This year’s call for proposals includes five themes: ▲Discovery and activation of local youth culture content ▲Activation of youth communities/clubs ▲Youth skill development and talent cultivation ▲Public interest activities for local community development such as discovering public agendas ▲Free projects expressing young people’s creative ideas (creative activities, etc.). Applicants can choose from these themes.

Applicants must be groups or organizations composed of at least three youths aged 19 to 39 (as of the announcement date) residing or active in Yangcheon-gu.

The application deadline is the 28th. Those wishing to participate should refer to the notice on the district office website and submit the required documents via email to the person in charge.

Submitted documents will undergo a first document screening and a second interview evaluation. Evaluation criteria include creativity (30%), feasibility (30%), validity (20%), and budget appropriateness (20%). Selected teams will receive up to 5 million KRW in activity funds, paid in three installments.

Yangcheon District Mayor Lee Ki-jae said, “This project allows youth to directly manage everything from proposal to selection and implementation, providing a great opportunity to realize various ideas and activate local community culture. We will actively support young people’s fresh ideas to bear fruit, so we encourage many interested youths to participate.”

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Kim Tae-woo) has prepared a refreshing SNS event to cool down the hot summer.

The district announced that it will hold a subscription event titled ‘Hot Summer, Gangseo-gu Cools You Down’ to further activate the official KakaoTalk channel of Gangseo-gu Office.

The Gangseo-gu Office KakaoTalk channel delivers various information covering festivals, events, performances, daily life information, culture, and tourism quickly and conveniently to residents.

Especially, by utilizing card news, videos, and images optimized for mobile, it allows residents to easily access content, receiving great responses from the community.

Accordingly, the district prepared this event to promote the KakaoTalk channel, which plays a vital role as a communication channel with residents, and to expand its subscriber base.

Anyone, not just Gangseo-gu residents, can participate in the event, which runs from July 22 to August 5.

To participate, subscribe to the Gangseo-gu Office KakaoTalk channel and submit a verification photo (screenshot) via the link (Naver form) or QR code posted on the Gangseo-gu Office website, blog, or official SNS channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

To subscribe, enter ‘Seoul Gangseo-gu Office’ in the KakaoTalk search bar and add the channel. If KakaoTalk is installed on your mobile phone, no additional registration is required.

The district will randomly select 150 participants to receive refreshing beverage gifticons. Winners will be announced on August 12 on the official KakaoTalk channel and blog.

District Mayor Kim Tae-woo said, “We prepared this event to deliver various district news that helps residents’ daily lives to more people. We will continue to strengthen communication with residents through diverse and rich content in line with the changing media environment.”

Meanwhile, subscribing to the Gangseo-gu Office KakaoTalk channel allows residents to receive lively Gangseo news messages every Monday.

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) is supporting the ‘Smart Safety Keeper’ service to prevent missing incidents among people with developmental disabilities in the area.

The ‘Smart Safety Keeper’ is a smart device equipped with a GPS tracker. It can be attached to a watch strap or inserted into the heel of an insole, providing real-time location notifications, guardian alerts when leaving safe zones, emergency calls, and health information (such as heart rate).

In particular, the insole concept was devised considering that people with developmental disabilities often dislike wearing wristwatches or necklaces and tend to wear the same shoes when going outside.

Typically, when a person with developmental disabilities goes missing, guardians visit the police station to file a report and start a search, which often causes a significant delay and loss of the ‘golden time.’ However, using the ‘Smart Safety Keeper’ allows location identification within about an hour, greatly aiding the quick discovery and safe movement of people with developmental disabilities.

The district selected 52 households as service recipients through the Gwanak-gu Disabled Family Support Center. The selection results can be checked on the center’s website. An explanatory meeting will be held on the 25th at 10:30 AM in the 8th-floor auditorium of the district office for the selected households.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Through the ‘Smart Safety Keeper,’ we will guarantee the right of people with developmental disabilities to move safely and create a ‘Safe City Gwanak’ where guardians can feel at ease. We will continue to strive for the independent support of people with developmental disabilities.”