[Seoul District News] Metaverse Dongjak World ▲Main Page ▲Comprehensive Administrative Town ▲Job Center for Residents to Use Virtual Shared Space Administrative Services ... Seongdong-gu Accepting Applications for 6th Social Venture Innovation Competition Until August 16 on District Website ... Seongbuk Future School Enhances High School Students' Career Competencies ... Yeongdeungpo-gu 'Seonyuro Un Sangkwon' Local Brand Briefing Successfully Held ... Uri Sori Library Operating 'Gugak Arts School' from August 8 to 12 to Experience Traditional Culture through Korean Instrument Performance and Talchum Dance
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Park Il-ha) announced that it has established the virtual and real convergence space ‘Metaverse Dongjak World’ and started virtual shared space administrative services from the 1st.
The newly opened ‘Metaverse Dongjak World’ is a virtual shared space where any resident can use district administrative services, consisting of three spaces: ▲Main Page ▲Comprehensive Administrative Town ▲Job Center. It overcomes the physical limitations of time and space, allowing avatars representing users to engage in various activities in the virtual space.
Also, the ‘Two Jangseung’ standing at the entrance of ‘Metaverse Dongjak World’ and virtual staff at the information desks in each space guide users on how to use the metaverse.
First, the ‘Main Page,’ created as a major district facility, provides various district news and allows participation in non-face-to-face events such as festivals and performances held at the outdoor large performance hall.
The ‘Comprehensive Administrative Town’ features collaboration, openness, communication, and freedom zones, where residents can hold online meetings in meeting rooms and counseling rooms provided in each space.
In particular, Dongjak-gu uniquely houses generation-specific job centers among Seoul’s autonomous districts, including Dongjak-gu Job Plus Center, Noryangjin Youth Job Center, Dongjak-gu Senior Job Center, and Dongjak 50 Plus Center. The integrated employment network space ‘Job Center’ offers services such as job information acquisition and employment counseling.
Anyone can access the Metaverse Dongjak World site via Chrome or Edge browsers without installing separate apps or signing up.
For more details, contact the Future City Division of Dongjak-gu Office.
Mayor Park Il-ha of Dongjak-gu said, “We hope this will be an opportunity to raise residents’ understanding of the metaverse, which is attracting attention as a core technology of the 4th Industrial Revolution, and to lay the foundation for creating a metaverse ecosystem.”
Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) is recruiting companies to participate in the ‘6th Seoul Forest Social Venture Innovation Competition (hereinafter Innovation Competition)’ until August 16.
Seongsu-dong is known as a mecca for social venture companies, but it was not always so. Starting from a handcrafted shoe artisan factory with 20 years of experience, some factories that had closed down gradually transformed into cafes. The combination of broken brick exteriors and neat interiors created a unique atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Seoul, showcasing another development in urban regeneration.
Amid this, young people began to contemplate solving social problems. Society never stops for even a second. Companies started gathering to solve ‘urban problems’ that arise as people come together. This led to the creation of another ecosystem that realizes social value and pursues sustainable growth.
The Innovation Competition, which discovers such social venture companies, is scheduled for October this year and marks its 6th edition since the first competition in 2017. Through this, Seongdong-gu has been striving to discover promising social venture companies that solve social problems with creative business models, support business development costs, and connect them to investments, laying the groundwork for social venture growth.
In the 5th competition, companies that recycled marine waste such as discarded fishing nets into regenerated nylon or upcycled food by-products into energy bars were selected.
This year’s competition is open to social venture companies located in Seongdong-gu within 7 years of establishment or those that can relocate their headquarters or branches to Seongdong-gu within one month after the preliminary screening date. Applications can be made in two categories based on business age: ‘Start-up Division (within 3 years of establishment)’ or ‘Scale-up Division (3 to 7 years of establishment).’ Ten companies selected through the first preliminary screening will receive benefits such as one-on-one mentoring, acceleration programs, and investment opportunities including the Seongdong ESG Fund.
Additionally, based on the results of the final evaluation by expert judges conducted through company presentations and Q&A sessions, business development funds ranging from 5 million to 20 million KRW, totaling up to 100 million KRW, will be awarded at the ‘Seoul Forest Social Venture EXPO’ award ceremony scheduled for mid-October. Detailed application methods and event information can be found on the Seongdong-gu Office website.
Seongdong-gu plans to focus not only on discovering and nurturing startups but also on expanding the social venture startup ecosystem. To this end, it has signed agreements and built various networks with related institutions such as impact investment firms in Seongsu-dong. What constitutes socially beneficial investment is a challenge we all need to consider going forward.
Mayor Jeong Won-oh of Seongdong-gu said, “Through the Innovation Competition, we have discovered about 50 social venture companies in various fields and supported their growth with a total of 500 million KRW in business development funds. We will continue to support and encourage social venture companies that contribute socially and sustain their business models in line with the era of sustainable growth.”
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) conducted the Seongbuk Future School for 140 local high school students from July 15 to July 29.
Since its launch in 2019, Seongbuk Future School is a five-session educational program that deeply explores future technology fields through theory and practice in collaboration with advanced facilities and experts from various universities. It is a highly preferred program among local high school students.
This year, in-person education was safely conducted under COVID-19 prevention guidelines at Korea University, Kookmin University, and Seoul Women’s University in five specialized fields: ▲Life Sciences ▲Robot Actuators ▲Automobiles ▲Drones ▲Information Security.
Key activities by field included ▲DNA gene extraction experiments on COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccine manufacturing technology ▲Autonomous driving robot practice using Raspberry Pi actuators ▲Future car practice focusing on eco-friendly and autonomous driving technologies ▲Autonomous flight drone practice based on Entry block coding ▲Information security practice based on physical computing.
Students actively engaged in hands-on practice under the guidance of university professors and graduate students and experienced practical career exploration opportunities through a sharing session where they presented their educational outcomes.
Mayor Lee Seung-ro of Seongbuk-gu said, “Seongbuk Future School plans to actively support career education programs that prepare for the high school credit system fully implemented in 2025 and support individual growth of high school students by utilizing excellent local university resources.”
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it successfully held an explanatory meeting to facilitate the smooth progress of the ‘Seonyuro-un Commercial District,’ selected as a Seoul local brand commercial district development project last month on the 22nd.
The local brand commercial district development project comprehensively supports the foundation and revitalization of distinctive and attractive alley commercial districts. The ‘Seonyuro-un Commercial District,’ which encompasses the commercial area around Seonyudo Station in Yangpyeong-dong, was selected through a public contest and will receive a total project budget of 3 billion KRW over three years.
Before the full-scale project launch, the district prepared this explanatory meeting to share the current status with local residents and merchants and to provide information on the project details and future plans.
The meeting was attended by about 80 people, including merchants from Yangpyeong 2-dong, focusing on increasing understanding of the project and encouraging active participation. First, the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation Yeongdeungpo Branch explained the project overview and main initiatives, followed by a presentation on project strategies by the Yeongdeungpo-gu Job and Economy Division.
During the subsequent opinion hearing and Q&A session, the attendees filled the meeting room and showed keen interest in the project, focusing discussions on commercial district revitalization plans, complaints within the district, and resolution measures.
An official from the district said, “Seonyuro-un Commercial District has excellent advantages such as abundant natural environment, transportation convenience, and cultural infrastructure, with unlimited potential for future development. We plan to concretize growth potential and secure project execution capabilities by broadly collecting voices from the field.”
The Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation will carry out the first phase of infrastructure construction and environmental improvement. The second and third phases, which involve full-scale local branding, will be led by Yeongdeungpo-gu and the commercial district development organization.
Mayor Choi Ho-kwon of Yeongdeungpo-gu said, “For Seonyuro-un Commercial District to succeed, merchants and residents must take the lead. We ask for your continued interest and affection. We will make multifaceted efforts to bring about changes that satisfy residents, merchants, and visitors to Seonyuro-un Commercial District.”
This summer, if you visit Woori Sori Library (Samildae-ro 30-gil 47), you may find a ‘companion instrument’ that you can always keep by your side, play, and possibly become a lifelong friend.
Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Moon-heon) has prepared the ‘Korean Traditional Music Arts School’ program for children on vacation to learn traditional Korean musical instruments and mask dance, becoming familiar with traditional performances that are not easily accessible in daily life.
The program, held at Woori Sori Library from August 8 to 12, is part of the ‘Seoul-type Innovative Education District Project’ operated through cooperation among Seoul City, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and autonomous districts. It aims to support children and youth to grow as subjects of a happy life.
To help children freely enjoy leisure activities restricted by COVID-19 and develop familiarity with Korean traditional music, the program consists of four parts: ▲Exciting Mask Dance Play ▲Lecture Korean Traditional Music Concert ▲Companion Instrument Class I ? Haegum ▲Companion Instrument Class II ? Gayageum.
In ‘Exciting Mask Dance Play,’ participants learn the basics of mask dance and create their own dance. The ‘Lecture Korean Traditional Music Concert’ covers folk songs, traditional games, jeongak and minsogak, creative Korean traditional music, and chamber music.
There is also time to play familiar children’s songs like ‘Airplane,’ ‘Three Bears,’ and ‘Butterfly’ on the haegum and enjoy Korean folk songs such as ‘Arirang,’ ‘Nilliriya,’ and ‘Ganggangsullae’ on the gayageum.
The tuition is completely free, targeting elementary school students in grades 3 to 6. Each class recruits 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications can be made through the Jongno Cultural Foundation website. For inquiries, contact the Cultural Planning Team of Jongno Cultural Foundation or Woori Sori Library.
Woori Sori Library, a Korean traditional music specialized space representing Jongno-gu, collects sound sources through consultation and cooperation with related institutions such as the National Gugak Center, National Intangible Heritage Center, and Gugak Broadcasting. It provides a system to listen to these and is gaining attention as a ‘reading space where Korean traditional music flows,’ holding a wide range of Korean traditional music books as well as general books.
Mayor Jeong Moon-heon of Jongno-gu explained, “I recommend that our children take this special opportunity during summer vacation to play Korean traditional instruments and experience mask dance, which are usually difficult to access.”
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