Guro-gu to Increase Postpartum Care Expenses from 300,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW Starting January 1 Next Year

[Seoul District News] Guro-gu Invests 1 Billion KRW, Provides 500,000 KRW per Mother Regardless of Income... Seodaemun-gu Hosts Academic Symposium on the 9th Afternoon Discussing 'Current Status and Challenges of Seodaemun Prison History Museum Metaverse' Exploring How Metaverse Can Be Used in Independence Movement Memorials

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Starting January 1 next year, postpartum care expenses of 500,000 KRW per mother will be provided to mothers registered as residents in Guro-gu.

Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced that it will increase the postpartum care expenses from 300,000 KRW per person to 500,000 KRW and support it, and that it will fully cover the budget with district funds again next year following this year. In the 2023 budget proposal submitted to the council on the 28th of last month, the budget for postpartum care cost support is 1 billion KRW, which is 1.7 times the 600 million KRW in 2022.

The postpartum care cost support fund provided by Guro-gu itself is characterized by allowing comprehensive use without restricting the usage. It focuses on ‘postpartum recovery support’ and expands the mother's choice.

According to the district, since the pilot project in 2019 until last month, postpartum care expenses have been paid to a total of 7,696 mothers. The application rate has steadily increased from 77.1% in 2019, 87.8% in 2020, to 88.6% in 2021, but the district plans to conduct more active publicity to ensure that every mother who meets the support requirements receives support without exception.

Guro-gu's postpartum care expense support is available to any mother who has continuously maintained resident registration in Guro-gu for up to six months before the newborn's birth date, regardless of income. The revised support amount will apply to mothers giving birth from January 1, 2023.

Applications can be made by visiting the local community service center within 60 days of the newborn's birth or online through the ‘Government24 Happy Birth One-Stop Service’.

Meanwhile, since last year, the district has been promoting the ‘Multi-child Mom Postpartum Recovery Support Project,’ which supports postpartum recovery medical expenses up to 300,000 KRW per mother giving birth to a third child, and plans to continue the ‘0-Year-Old Child Medical Expense Support Project’ next year, which supports medical expenses for children under 12 months in households with income below 80% of the median income.

Moon Heon-il, Mayor of Guro-gu, said, “Increasing the birth rate is a very important issue that affects the future of the nation and the region,” adding, “We will strive to wisely overcome the low birthrate crisis through various efforts.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Seong-heon) announced that the Seodaemun Prison History Hall and Kwangwoon University Korea Peninsula Metaverse Research Institute will jointly hold an academic symposium on ‘Current Status and Issues of Memorial Hall Metaverse’ from 2 to 6 p.m. on the 9th.

The event will be held simultaneously in the lecture room of the Seodaemun Prison History Hall and on the metaverse platform ‘moim,’ featuring a total of four thematic presentations and a comprehensive discussion.

Memorial hall and museum officials, along with metaverse experts, will gather to explore how the metaverse, which will lead the future, can be utilized in memorial halls related to the independence movement.

The first presentation, titled ‘Public History and Memorial Hall Metaverse,’ will be given by Professor Kim Jeong-gwon, director of the Korea Peninsula Metaverse Research Institute at Kwangwoon University. Professor Kim will introduce the concept of public history and present research results on the necessity of memorial hall metaverse.

Next, Park Kyung-mok, director of the Seodaemun Prison History Hall, will introduce the current status of independence movement-related memorial halls nationwide and suggest the technical linkage possibilities of the metaverse under the theme ‘Current Status of Memorial Halls and Metaverse Utilization.’

The third topic, ‘Memorial Hall Metaverse Methodology,’ will be explained by Kim Ji-min, director of the Content Business Division at Eight One, focusing on concrete methodologies and technical implementations of the metaverse that can be applied in actual memorial halls centered on the Seodaemun Prison History Hall.

The fourth presentation, titled ‘Challenges and Prospects of Memorial Hall Metaverse,’ will be given by Jang Eun-jung, curator at the National Museum of Korea. Curator Jang will present metaverse cases conducted by the National Museum of Korea and discuss future challenges and prospects for its development.

Following this, a comprehensive discussion will be chaired by Kim Hee-gon, director of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Memorial Hall.

In addition to the four presenters, participants include Professor Lee Gye-hyung of Kookmin University, president of the Korean Modern and Contemporary History Association; Joo Gye-woon, curator of the Data Department at the Independence Hall of Korea; Jeong Ho-won, team leader at the Jeollabuk-do Content Convergence Promotion Agency; and Jeong Ji-soo, curator at the Seodaemun Natural History Museum.

Mayor Lee Seong-heon said, “Through this symposium, we expect the ‘Seodaemun Prison History Hall Metaverse,’ which communicates with audiences beyond the limits of time and space, to become more concrete.”