Opening of Gangnam-gu's First Senior Complex Cultural Facility 'Hakri Senior Center'

Six Public Senior Centers Over 40 Years Old Rebuilt as Complex Cultural Facilities Offering Leisure Services and Job Opportunities... On the 8th, Hakri Senior Center Transformed from Hakri Senior Center as First Project Result... Construction of Five Other Senior Centers to Proceed Sequentially

Hakri Senior Center Book Cafe

Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will open the first senior complex cultural facility, Hakri Senior Center (Hakdong-ro 47-gil 30), on the 8th.

This project transforms an old public senior center that has been in place for over 40 years into a complex cultural facility space offering customized leisure and cultural services for seniors' active retirement life, as well as providing and guiding senior job opportunities.

The project targets six senior centers including Hakri Senior Center, Samsung Senior Center (100-8, Samsung-dong), Dogok 1-dong Senior Center (950-10, Dogok-dong), Seonjeong Senior Center (683-19, Yeoksam-dong), Eungok Senior Center (360-18, Segok-dong), and Jaeneomeo Senior Center (16-16, Cheongdam-dong).

Built in 1978 with a scale of basement 1 to ground 2 floors, Hakri Senior Center has been under reconstruction planning since 2020 and construction began in March last year. It was completed in August 2023 with a total floor area of 468.75㎡ and a scale of basement 2 to ground 4 floors. After internal facility work, it is opening with facilities including ▲1st floor book cafe ▲2nd floor program room ▲3rd floor grandmother’s room ▲4th floor grandfather’s room.

An facial recognition access system was installed at the center entrance to allow senior center users to conveniently use the facility even on weekends. The book cafe is equipped with kiosks where visitors can purchase their desired beverage menu and socialize. This space is linked to a job project by employing silver cafe attendants who assist seniors in using kiosks, making it a place for seniors to learn how to use digital devices. The program room offers classes in calisthenics and healing yoga until December, and from next year, various programs will be operated in a semester system.

Among the remaining five senior centers, four that have started construction are scheduled to be completed sequentially in 2024, and Jaeneomeo Senior Center, currently in the design phase, is planned to be built by December 2025. For Dogok 1-dong Senior Center, a subsidy of 1 billion KRW was secured from Seoul City last October to promote the construction of a small-scale senior welfare facility, planning to create a senior dining hall, physical therapy room, and auditorium.

Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “In response to the super-aged society, we will transform senior centers into complex cultural facilities where health promotion and leisure activities can be enjoyed, creating spaces where local residents can also communicate together. We will continuously search for sites and buildings to establish complex cultural spaces by district and ensure that the remaining new construction projects proceed without any setbacks.”