Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Ilhyung Lee Visits Gosiwon to Share Warm Year-End Moments

Listening to Issues Faced by Residents Visiting 9 Gosiwons from the 23rd to 28th

Ilpyeong Lee, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu (center), is having a conversation with residents at a gosiwon in Hoegi-dong.

Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Ilhyung Lee Meets with Operators and Residents of Nine Gosiwon Locations in the District from the 23rd to the 28th to Check on Residents' Well-being and Health

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Amid continuing subzero cold, Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Ilhyung Lee has been visiting vulnerable residential facilities such as gosiwons.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, when Seoul's temperature dropped to a low of minus 14 degrees Celsius and the wind chill reached minus 20 degrees, Mayor Lee set out to assess the living conditions of single low-income households residing in gosiwons.

Mayor Lee's visits to gosiwons continued until the 28th. After identifying gosiwons with vulnerable living environments in each neighborhood and conducting on-site investigations, nine gosiwons were selected. The mayor, along with neighborhood chiefs and social welfare team leaders, met directly with residents to listen to their voices from the field.

On the first day, the 23rd, they visited Elite Gosiwon in Yongsin-dong (65% basic livelihood security recipients), Mirae Gosiwon in Dapsimni 1-dong (49%), and Hanbit Gosiwon in Jangan 1-dong (55%), meeting with residents there.

Entering the narrow corridors of the gosiwons, doors were tightly lined up along the long hallway, and opening a door revealed a room barely large enough for one adult male to lie down. Most residents were middle-aged men struggling through daily life as day laborers, often relying on meals and side dishes provided by the gosiwon.

When Mayor Lee asked if there were any inconveniences, one resident said, “Thank you for coming to check on our difficulties in this cold weather. Although there are inconveniences in daily life, the gosiwon provides warm meals and side dishes and heating to keep us from the cold, so any additional support for the gosiwon would be appreciated.”

Mayor Lee said, “While talking with residents and operators during the visits, although the living conditions are poor, the warm concern and care they show for each other were impressive. I remember the owner who prepares fresh meals daily for residents, the owner who buys medicinal herbs from Gyeongdong Market and brews them to prevent COVID-19 infection, and the young male owner who, despite the burden of heating costs, tries not to let residents shiver in the cold. Recently, solitary deaths among single low-income households have become a serious social issue, and only attention from neighbors can be the shortcut to prevention.”

Additionally, neighborhood community centers delivered daily necessities such as rice, kimchi, ramen, and blankets, sponsored locally, to support vulnerable residents living in gosiwons and promote a culture of warm sharing. The on-site visits concluded on the 28th with a visit to O2 One Roomtel in Hwikyung 1-dong.

After completing the visits, Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Ilhyung Lee stated, “We will form a single-person household support team to conduct focused investigations into welfare blind spots, especially to understand the living conditions of middle-aged single-person households residing in vulnerable residential facilities such as gosiwons, and strengthen welfare services. We will not spare continuous attention and support to neighbors in need so that no one is left behind and everyone can dream of the future.”