Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) is taking the lead in fostering a 'kind community' culture by operating a village management office in a one-room apartment complex for the first time in the Honam region.
Seo-gu announced on the 12th that following the opening of the first village management office at Parangsae One-Room Town in Sangmu 1-dong on the 11th, the second village management office will open at Pureunmaeul One-Room Town in Geumho 2-dong on the 17th.
In Seo-gu, 67% of the housing consists of apartments and multi-family housing, while 33% are multi-household or single-family homes.
For apartment complexes, issues related to housing management, repairs, and community communication are resolved through management offices. However, in one-room apartment areas with many single-person households such as young adults and office workers, there have been many difficulties in solving daily life problems such as cleaning, parking management, home repairs, and parcel delivery management.
In response, Seo-gu is operating village management offices centered on large one-room apartment complexes in collaboration with village communities to provide life-oriented services.
Sangmu 1-dong’s office is located at Ssangchon Village Community Center (5-13, Sangil-ro 14beon-gil), and Geumho 2-dong’s office is at Pureunmaeul Senior Center (5-6, Hwage 2-ro 9beon-gil). They provide services such as ▲environmental maintenance (cleaning, waste separation, promotion) ▲linking with repair companies ▲safety patrols (road damage, parking, safe return for women) ▲and operating community rooms. The village management offices are operated by the Parangsae One-Room Town Association in Sangmu 1-dong (representative Park Jaegil) and the Village Guardians in Geumho 2-dong (representative Oh Incheol), with operating hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.
Seo-gu is also establishing a village safety network in cooperation with the police and fire departments. The Western Police Station (Sangmu and Geumho precincts) participates in patrolling around one-room apartments and ensuring safe returns to create a crime-free village, while the Western Fire Station (Hwajeong and Pungam 119 Safety Centers) supports fire and emergency training to enhance the professionalism of building managers.
Mayor Kim Ikang of Seo-gu said, “Operating village management offices will be a representative ‘kind policy’ to realize a kind city, Seo-gu,” and added, “We will review and expand various support measures to improve the quality of life for single-person households.”
Meanwhile, in May, Seo-gu established a public-private cooperation network with the building owners’ associations of one-room towns in Sangmu 1-dong and Geumho 2-dong to prevent solitary deaths among households facing social risks such as disabilities, illness, poverty, and death.
Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dongho yjm3070@asiae.co.kr
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