[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Designates Every Third Thursday as ‘Gwanak Clean Day’ for Large-Scale Cleaning to Promote Sweeping Culture in Front of Homes and Stores & Campaigns with Residents for Alley and Voluntary Cleaning, Proper Waste Disposal Guidelines... Oh Eon-seok, Dobong-gu Mayor, Leads Thorough Cleaning After Chuseok Holiday on 15th
& Residents Join Cleaning at Jeong-ui Middle School Entrance Intersection, Near Ssangmun Station, Changdong Market Entrance Intersection, Chang 1-dong Food Alley, Addressing On-Site Complaints & Mayor Oh Plans 14 Events in October
Park Jun-hee, District Mayor, participating in the Cheongnyong-dong Gwanak Clean Day event on the 15th
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Park Jun-hee, the mayor of Gwanak-gu, took a broom and went out to clean the alleys with residents of Cheongnyong-dong on the 15th.
On that day, Mayor Park Jun-hee, who came out earlier than the residents at dawn, warmly greeted the residents and cleaned the alleys for about an hour together with the Cheongjeong Samteo Ikgeumi, a group composed of local residents, and the autonomous cleaning volunteer group.
Mayor Park said, “This cleaning was undertaken to remove the trash left unattended during the Chuseok holiday, create a pleasant alley environment, and support the recovery of residents’ daily lives who were affected by the record-breaking heavy rain.”
Gwanak-gu designates the third Thursday of every month as ‘Gwanak Clean Day’ to boost resident-led cleaning, establish a culture of sweeping in front of one’s own house and store, and promote proper waste disposal methods and the use of dedicated recycling bags.
‘Gwanak Clean Day’ is a project started in 2018 based on Mayor Park’s idea that “cleaning administration cannot succeed without active interest and voluntary participation of residents.”
Residents including neighborhood functional organizations, Cheongjeong Samteo Ikgeumi, autonomous cleaning volunteer groups, and merchants voluntarily participate and clean intensively with the mayor from 7:30 a.m. for one hour in back alleys, traditional markets, shopping districts, and areas vulnerable to illegal dumping.
Mayor Park is carrying out field-centered district administration with the motto ‘the answer lies in the field’ by meeting residents to listen to their stories and visiting sites directly to solve local issues and complaints.
This ‘Gwanak Clean Day’ event was also prepared to find solutions by visiting the site regarding the common issues of illegal dumping and trash problems faced by all local governments and to listen to the difficulties of local residents. Cleaning administration is also a form of communication administration to meet and talk with residents early in the morning.
Mayor Park, who was re-elected, conducted a district-wide cleaning tour of all neighborhoods from June to July since the start of the 8th local government term and promised residents to spread the culture of resident-led cleaning and sweeping in front of one’s own house and store.
The ‘Gwanak Clean Day’ cleaning held on the third Thursday of every month focuses on areas with habitual illegal dumping in residential areas, shopping districts near subway stations with high foot traffic, and other places where environmental improvement effects are significant and resident cleaning awareness can be raised.
In addition, to increase the recycling rate, the district promotes the ‘Transparent PET Bottle and Waste Vinyl Separate Disposal Day System’ for detached houses and commercial areas implemented since last year, and the ‘Recycling-Only Bag Project’ targeting areas vulnerable to separate disposal, along with promotional campaigns to improve urban scenery.
Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “If residents can make sweeping in front of their own houses and stores a daily habit through Gwanak Clean Day, it will greatly contribute to creating a ‘Clean Living Environment Gwanak.’ We will continue to listen carefully to the voices of residents, visit sites, and actively strive to make Gwanak clean and free of trash.”
Oh Eun-seok, the mayor of Dobong-gu, conducted a large-scale cleaning with residents early in the morning on the 15th to clean up trash accumulated on streets and alleys during the Chuseok holiday.
This large-scale cleaning for ‘Clean Dobong’ with residents in the 8th local government term was participated in by about 100 people including Mayor Oh Eun-seok, district council members, residents of Ssangmun 3-dong and Chang 1-dong, environmental officers, and cleaning contractors.
The cleaning started from areas with high foot traffic such as near Ssangmun Station and the entrance street of Jeongui Girls’ Middle School, and continued in the alleys of Sindobong Middle School, Ssangmun 3-dong, the intersection at the entrance of Chang-dong Market, and the food alley in Chang 1-dong.
Mayor Oh Eun-seok personally collected recycling trash bags placed in front of houses and alleys into a vehicle and removed cigarette butts accumulated in rainwater drains, cleaning every corner. He also listened to complaints from residents he met on site.
While cleaning alleys with residents, he sought opinions on resource circulation policies to create a ‘Clean Dobong that people want to walk in’ and urged residents to clean in front of their own houses and stores.
Dobong-gu plans to conduct ‘Cleaning Administration into the Field,’ where the mayor will directly tour 14 neighborhoods from October, cleaning areas vulnerable to trash accumulation with residents and listening to their opinions.
Mayor Oh Eun-seok of Dobong-gu said, “Without communication on site, there is no empathetic administration. Taking this large-scale cleaning as an opportunity, we plan to regularly clean various parts of Dobong-gu with residents and spend time inspecting the field. We will do our best so that residents can feel the cleaner Dobong-gu in the future.”
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it is taking the lead in improving the residential environment of the local community by carrying out various social contribution activities in partnership with the Yeongdeungpo Youth Architecture School (hereinafter referred to as the Architecture School).
The Architecture School is a specialized education institution linked to employment and entrepreneurship, established in 2018 as the first of its kind in Seoul’s autonomous districts, and has taken steps toward social contribution activities since 2021 through the ‘Establishment of Our Neighborhood Residential Improvement Management Company.’
So far, the Architecture School has supported home repairs such as wallpapering, tiling, and insulation for 12 vulnerable households in the area through the ‘Support Project for Home Repairs for Vulnerable Groups.’ They communicated directly with residents and managed the entire home repair process from customized planning to final construction. Students and graduates had opportunities for field training and contributed to improving residential welfare by alleviating housing inconveniences of local residents.
In particular, in August, graduates and trainees of the Architecture School once again joined forces to support households affected by flooding in Yeongdeungpo-gu, bringing a warm breeze to the local community.
Graduates of the Architecture School who established Ttukttak Repair Cooperative, Our Neighborhood Architecture Cooperative, Second Life Co., Ltd., and five graduates of the Architecture School joined together to visit four households affected by flooding in the area and carried out flooring replacement and wallpapering work. They promptly helped repair the homes of disaster victims in urgent need and supported their return to daily life. This became an opportunity to jointly solve various housing problems in the region and give back the skills acquired at the Architecture School to society.
The Architecture School is taking a step further by building a platform called ‘Our Neighborhood Residential Improvement Management’ (hereinafter ‘Uju-gwan’) and opening a website for pilot operation to create a virtuous cycle structure of youth job creation and local community residential environment improvement. Technicians from Ttukttak Repair Cooperative, Our Neighborhood Architecture Cooperative, Second Life, and graduates and trainees of the Architecture School will participate as key players in Uju-gwan to proactively improve the local residential environment and enhance residents’ quality of life.
Choi Ho-kwon, mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “We will work harder to create an environment where young people can overcome social constraints, develop their capabilities, and take on challenges. Furthermore, we will operate the Architecture School activities solidly so that they lead to a virtuous cycle structure that gives back to the local community.”
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