Gwanak-gu Draws Urban Future Blueprint with Residents... Recruiting 'Premium City Design Resident Participation Group'

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Operates 'Process with Residents' to Revitalize Urban Planning, Collect Opinions and Build Consensus & Comprehensive Consideration of Urban Planning Participation Experience; 42 Selected, Applications Open Until 22nd... Songpa-gu Opens ‘Daon,’ a Rest and Play Space for Youth Inside and Outside Schools... Gangnam-gu Hosts ‘Mind Healing Meeting with Pet Loss’ with Professional Counselors... Gangbuk-gu Holds 11th ‘Photo Contest’

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is recruiting the ‘Premium City Design Resident Participation Group’ to establish a lifestyle-oriented urban plan for residents.

Urban planning is the efficient design of residential and living spaces to rationally use limited land, laying the foundation for regional development such as new town development and urban regeneration.

Accordingly, the district operates the ‘Resident Participation Group’ to create a dignified urban and residential environment and to drive regional economic revitalization centered on a start-up city. This is to build a self-sustaining urban planning foundation and form a consensus on future development directions.

The ‘Resident Participation Group’ participates in the urban planning process to identify inconveniences experienced in daily life and improvement tasks suited to local characteristics.

Until 2026, they will share the urban planning process through resident workshops, Gwanak urban planning special lectures, and collect diverse opinions on ways to activate urban planning and form consensus.

They will also consider policy directions for urban planning such as the establishment of the ‘2040 Gwanak-gu Comprehensive Urban Management Plan,’ the upcoming ‘Urban Stream Waterfront Sensory City Plan,’ the ‘Gwanak Green Space and Pedestrian Axis Plan,’ and the ‘Hill Residential Area Management Plan.’

In particular, the district plans to operate a ‘resident-involved process’ that encourages resident interest in district administration and the region from the ongoing establishment of the ‘2040 Gwanak-gu Comprehensive Urban Management Plan’ and creates a premium city design together with residents.

The ‘Resident Participation Group’ is open to any Gwanak-gu resident, worker at a business located in Gwanak-gu, or university (graduate) student. A total of 42 members (about 2 per neighborhood) will be selected comprehensively considering age, occupation, gender, and experience in urban planning or urban regeneration participation.

To apply, download the application form from the Gwanak-gu Office website and submit it by August 22 either by visiting the Urban Planning Division of Gwanak-gu Office or the local community center in person, or by mail or email.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Through public-private cooperation, we will move away from unilateral urban planning led by the district and strive to create a sustainable and vibrant city directly by residents.” He added, “We expect to actively collect residents’ opinions through the Premium City Design Resident Participation Group and draw a future urban blueprint together with residents.”

For detailed inquiries, contact the Urban Planning Division of Gwanak-gu Office.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that on the 8th it opened the youth hangout ‘Daon’ on the 3rd floor of the Songpa-gu Youth Support Center Kkumdeulim (hereafter Kkumdeulim).

The youth hangout ‘Daon’ is a 100㎡ space composed of a play area where reading, board games, and video viewing are possible, and a rest area furnished with a bunker and sofas.

Especially, ‘Daon,’ created through a Seoul city public contest project, is the first youth hangout opened in Songpa-gu. From space composition to furniture purchase, the opinions of the youth, the true owners of the space, were reflected, making it a genuine youth-only hangout space.

The district plans to utilize the youth hangout Daon in connection with local elementary, middle, and high schools to promote cultural activities for exchanges among youth inside and outside schools.

The youth hangout ‘Daon’ is freely accessible to any youth, and its operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. For detailed inquiries, contact the Songpa-gu Youth Support Center Kkumdeulim.

Kkumdeulim (Munjeong-dong, Songpa-daero 14-gil 7) opened in 2015 as a specialized space supporting out-of-school youth with learning, counseling, independence and parent education, club and cultural activities tailored to youth needs. It operates various programs including learning mentoring, cooking, and nail art.

Mayor Seo Gang-seok said, “Just as youth have the right to learn, they also have the basic right to play and rest.” He added, “We will spare no support to enable youth’s self-directed activities by providing rest and play spaces to relieve academic and career stress.”

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) is preparing the ‘Healing Mind Group with Pet Loss’ program to help residents suffering from pet loss syndrome, such as depression and guilt after their pets pass away, and will recruit 16 participants on a first-come, first-served basis through its website from the 11th to the 19th.

The district will operate this program as a pilot project this year, dividing participants into two groups of 8 each to form healing mind groups, conducting counseling, psychological analysis, and group counseling by professional counselors.

The counseling program consists of ▲emotion word and mourning education ▲diary and letter writing ▲process of overcoming guilt ▲pet loss syndrome overcoming process and post-assessment, conducted over four sessions of two hours each.

Any Gangnam-gu resident seeking to overcome pet loss syndrome can apply, and participants will join the program from the 24th of this month to the 14th of next month. For details, contact the Regional Economy Division of Gangnam-gu Office.

Mayor Jo Seong-myeong said, “Through the healing mind group prepared by Gangnam-gu, we hope residents struggling with pet loss syndrome receive help from professional counselors, share experiences, comfort each other, and regain a happy daily life.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) is holding the ‘11th Gangbuk-gu Photo Contest’ to widely promote the beautiful aspects of Gangbuk-gu.

The contest theme is ‘Gangbuk that Empowers My Life’ with three categories: ▲Satisfactory City Gangbuk ▲Ecological City Gangbuk ▲Cultural City Gangbuk. Participants can submit photos capturing vivid residents’ scenes, neighborhood stories, Bukhansan Mountain, Buk Seoul Dream Forest, Gangbuk’s nature, and local festivals.

Those wishing to participate can apply from August 16 to October 14 by 6 p.m. through the Gangbuk-gu Internet Broadcasting website. Up to three entries per person are allowed, and photos must be submitted as image files such as JPG along with the application and pledge forms.

The district plans to announce winners in November after expert judging and netizen evaluation. A total of 16 works will be selected: 1 grand prize winner (prize money 1 million KRW), 2 excellence award winners (each 500,000 KRW), 3 encouragement award winners (each 300,000 KRW), and 10 honorable mentions (each 100,000 KRW), all receiving prize money and certificates.

The winning works will be featured on the Gangbuk-gu Internet Broadcasting website and displayed in government buildings. They may also be used in various promotional materials produced by the district.

The district has held the photo contest annually since 2013, discovering local landmarks and beautiful scenery. Last year’s 10th contest selected ‘A Splendid Spring Evening’ showing citizens walking along the cherry blossom path in Buk Seoul Dream Forest as the grand prize winner, with ‘Sunrise Welcomed Together’ and ‘Sky, Mountain, Flower, and Water’ among the excellence awards.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, “I believe this contest is a great opportunity to discover the beauty and diverse aspects of the district,” and added, “I hope for active interest and participation so this year’s photo contest can shine even more.”