[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters Participation] Kim Byeongnae, Mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City

Heo Jun, the author of Donguibogam, emphasized that "food therapy (食補) is better than medicinal therapy (藥補), and exercise therapy (行補) is better than food therapy." This means that nourishing the body with food is better than with medicine, and walking is better than food.

Recently, the number of people enjoying walking exercises has increased significantly. Even within our Nam-gu district, there are people managing their health through walking exercises along the Pureungil Park trail, the Health Nuri Trail connecting Hyochon District to Pochungsa Temple, and the Gwangju Stream riverside. I also take time to enjoy walking exercises whenever possible to maintain my health. Simply walking diligently guarantees lifelong health.

Since September last year, our district has been promoting walking exercises to residents through the mobile walking platform "WalkOn app," operating programs to activate walking exercises. Various courses have been prepared, including the Pureungil trail and a stamp tour centered around Yangnim-dong, a modern historical and cultural village, with monthly walking champions selected.

Additionally, to facilitate communication and exchange among residents who walk, we operate the online community "Walking All Around Nam-gu," where various events and challenges are introduced.

If you have a chance to visit Nam-gu, Gwangju, I highly recommend walking the Pureungil Park trail. The trail extends about 5 km from Jinwol-dong to in front of Namgwangju Station, where you can enjoy walking exercises amid lush greenery from spring through autumn.

Walking brings us happiness, and happiness is the best health. Both happiness and health can be achieved by walking steadily every day. I hope that many residents will take care of both their health and happiness through walking in the 2023 Asia Economy National Brain Health Project "One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Thousand Characters a Day." <Kim Byeongnae, Mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City>