Gangnam-gu New Year's First Sunrise Event Held at Samsung Haemaji Park

Gangnam-gu to Hold New Year's Sunrise Event at 'Samsung Haemaji Park' at 7 AM on January 1

Samsung Haemaji Park

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will hold the ‘Year of the Rabbit Sunrise Event’ to wish for the health and happiness of all residents on January 1st at 7 a.m. at Samsung Sunrise Park.

After a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19, this sunrise event will be held at Samsung Sunrise Park (formerly Cheongdam Drainage Park), which opened last October and has emerged as a new popular sunrise spot. This location boasts an open, spectacular view of the Han River, allowing visitors to see major landmarks of Seoul at a glance.

Starting at 7 a.m., the event will feature a performance by the Gangnam Choir and the powerful drum sounds of the Daebuk Tago, followed by a countdown to the sunrise with attendees welcoming the hopeful dawn together. Afterwards, light balloons bearing New Year’s wishes for peace and happiness for the nation, people, and families will be raised. The event will conclude with New Year congratulatory messages from distinguished guests and a fusion gugak (traditional Korean music) performance wishing for a hopeful new year.

Side events include ▲ New Year fortune-telling and tarot card readings ▲ Writing New Year’s blessings ▲ Rabbit photo zone. Notably, the Gangnam Food Service CEO Alumni Association has prepared a ‘Tteokguk Sharing Event’ to foster warm community spirit with neighbors.

Since the event is held outdoors in winter, thorough safety measures are in place. De-icing agents will be pre-applied on stairs and uphill paths leading to the sunrise park to prevent slipping. Safety personnel will be stationed throughout the area to disperse and control crowds to avoid congestion.

Additionally, emergency vehicles and nurses from the Gangnam Health Center will be on standby to respond to any unforeseen emergencies.

Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said, “As we welcome the Year of the Rabbit 2023, I sincerely wish all residents good health and happiness. We will do our utmost to realize the happy lives and dreams of our residents and to lead Gangnam’s resurgence as a driving force for the future of the Republic of Korea.”

Jongno-gu (District Mayor Jeong Mun-heon) is completing the ‘Hongjecheon Riverside Walkway Construction’ that began in March this year and is providing local residents with a safe and pleasant walking environment.

The project area covers approximately 3 km from 130 Pyeongchangmunhwa-ro to Hongjimun.

The upper stream of Hongjecheon has long been recognized for its historical significance and scenic beauty, but urbanization has reduced accessibility to the stream and weakened pedestrian connectivity with the lower stream, causing inconvenience for users.

In response, Jongno-gu has created a pedestrian axis connecting the previously disconnected riverside paths and linked them to nearby hiking trails.

Specifically, the walkway between Hongjecheon Riverside Park and Sinyeonggyo Bridge, which was previously disconnected, has been connected. Additionally, decks and other facilities were installed between Sinyeong 2 Bridge and Sinyeong 3 Bridge, areas with poor accessibility, to create a comfortable walking environment.

Old and worn-out fences, benches, and other facilities that spoiled the riverside scenery were replaced, and the existing walkway was repaved. Furthermore, 158 LED landscape lights were installed to allow visitors to enjoy the beautiful night view of Hongjecheon, where water, rocks, and cultural assets harmonize.

The district plans to build informational facilities and resting areas that harmonize with Hongjecheon along the walkway in the first and second halves of next year, continuing efforts to create a pleasant riverside environment.

Mayor Jeong Mun-heon stated, “The Hongjecheon walkway construction has created a safe and convenient walking environment close to residents’ homes. We expect positive effects on local landscape improvement as well. We will ensure the remaining construction is completed without delay within next year to increase resident satisfaction.”

Seocho-gu (District Mayor Jeon Seong-su) received the ‘UNICEF Child-Friendly City Certification’ on the 21st, gaining external recognition for the excellence of its child-friendly policies.

A ‘UNICEF Child-Friendly City’ is a city that protects children’s rights as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?including survival, protection, development, and participation rights?and implements child-friendly policies to ensure children live happy lives.

The certification requirements include ▲ a dedicated child rights organization ▲ child-friendly legal system ▲ child participation system ▲ child rights ombudsman ▲ child rights education and promotion ▲ child budget analysis and securing ▲ regular child rights status surveys ▲ child-friendly city strategy establishment ▲ child impact assessments, totaling 10 criteria. Certification is granted after UNICEF’s document and face-to-face evaluations.

Seocho-gu has made various efforts to obtain this certification. First, in October 2019, it established a basic plan for creating a child-friendly city and enacted the ‘Ordinance on the Creation of a Child-Friendly City’ in February 2020 to establish a child-friendly legal framework. Additionally, to build a control tower for child policy implementation, since February this year, it has operated a comprehensive child policy organization involving 14 departments.

This certification particularly recognized Seocho-gu’s establishment of systems for children’s policy participation and reflection. In May, Seocho-gu formed the ‘Future Generation Policy Group,’ the first of its kind, including children under 18 and caregivers of infants. It has also continuously operated the ‘Youth Participation Committee’ composed of youth under 24. Opinions gathered through these child participation bodies will be reviewed by the child policy organization and actively reflected in district policies.

Moreover, Seocho-gu has promoted education to enhance children’s rights. From 2020 over three years, it provided education to 5,931 people including children and youth, parents, district council members, teachers, and facility workers. Recently, in collaboration with Save the Children, Seocho-gu developed a pilot ‘Seocho-style Child Rights Education Textbook’ for schools and plans to distribute 5,000 copies to local elementary schools and facilities starting January next year.

Seocho-gu has also worked to create child-friendly environments supporting healthy growth and development through facilities such as ▲ the nation’s first infant and toddler disability prevention center ‘Seocho Child Development Center’ ▲ the ‘Seocho Smart Youth Center,’ a 4th industrial revolution experience space for youth ▲ the public indoor playground ‘Seoripul Nori School’ ▲ and a ‘Natural Ecological Playground’ where children can freely play.

Seocho-gu will receive the certification plaque and certificate, valid from December 30, 2022, to December 29, 2026. This makes Seocho-gu part of a global network, gaining opportunities to participate in various international events, exchanges, and cooperation projects related to children.

Going forward, Seocho-gu plans to rebuild the aging Bangbae Youth Center into a culture and arts-specialized ‘Bangbae ART Youth Center’ and establish a four-year child policy master plan for the 8th mayoral term to further develop Seocho-style child-friendly projects.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “I am pleased that our efforts to make Seocho a happy place for children have been recognized. We will continue to strive to make Seocho a place where our future?children?can grow up happily and healthily.”

On the 26th at 3:50 p.m., Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, visited Surak Elementary School’s ‘Active School, Healthy School’ site.

Since 2019, the district has been implementing the ‘Active School, Healthy School’ project, the first of its kind nationwide among local governments, which creates advanced physical activity spaces within unused school areas to prevent obesity among children and adolescents and promote physical activity.

During the visit to Surak Elementary School, Mayor Oh Seung-rok, along with project staff and school officials, demonstrated the use of elastic sports flooring with custom sports lines (athletics track, dodgeball court), class-based exercise monitoring using armband-type wearable heart rate monitors, and gymnastics, followed by a meeting with school officials and parents.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu said, “Due to COVID-19, children’s physical activity has recently decreased, making childhood obesity and stress major issues. We will continue to expand physical play spaces to help children grow up healthy.”