[Interview] Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, "Not Satisfied with Being No.1 in Happiness Index, Creating a City Where Everyone Wants to Live"

Mapo-gu Ranks First in Happiness Index in 2023 Seoul Survey... Soars from 10th Place in 2022 in Just One Year... Excelling in Residential Walking Environment, Sports Participation, Disability Awareness, Social Fairness, and Pride... Mayor Park Gang-su Resolves Over 430,000 Civil Complaints in Two Years, Earning the Nickname 'Passionate Problem Solver' for Addressing Residents' Needs

“Among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul, Mapo-gu is not content with being ranked ‘Number 1 in Happiness Index’ but will move forward with residents toward becoming a ‘city where everyone wants to live.’”

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, expressed his thoughts on the 2023 Seoul Survey results conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which showed Mapo-gu ranked first in happiness index among the 25 districts of Seoul.

This is especially noteworthy as it marks a significant change from 2022, when Mapo-gu ranked 10th in the happiness index, achieved within just one year.

The Seoul Survey happiness index measures satisfaction in health, finances, interpersonal relationships, family life, and social life. The overall average for Seoul in 2023 was 6.61 out of 10. Mapo-gu’s happiness index was 7.19, surpassing the Seoul average in all detailed categories: health 7.58, finances 6.90, interpersonal relationships 7.20, family life 7.21, and social life 7.03, securing the top position.

The Seoul Survey is a government-approved, credible survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government from September 1 to October 15, 2023, targeting 20,000 households residing in Seoul (35,881 individuals aged 15 and older), 5,000 citizens, and 2,500 foreigners, to serve as a basis for Seoul’s policy implementation.

The district analyzes that the happiness index of Mapo-gu residents, who recorded the highest score in Seoul, is based on living environments that determine happiness factors, perceptions and care for socially vulnerable groups, activation of cultural and sports activities, and fairness and trust in society.

In fact, the Seoul Survey also showed that Mapo-gu scored excellent indicators in satisfaction with residential area walking environments, frequency of participation in sports activities, attitudes toward socially vulnerable groups, social fairness, and pride as Seoul citizens.

Notably, overall satisfaction with daily life and fairness and trust in society translated into pride, with 54.4% of Mapo-gu residents responding that they feel pride as Seoul citizens, significantly higher than the average of 37.6%.

Last year, Mapo-gu implemented innovative policies such as establishing 365-day open public sports facilities, creating pedestrian paths like Hongdae Red Road and World Cupcheon-ro Metasequoia Road, disability policies eliminating discrimination including ‘Anyone’s Cultural Creation Center,’ ‘Anyone’s Sports Center,’ and the ‘Look at People’ festival, pregnancy preparation to childbirth and childcare support centers ‘Sunshine Center’ and ‘Cheokkeut Center,’ and senior care programs like ‘Filial Piety Meal’ and ‘Filial Piety Lodging Senior Centers.’

Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo-gu said, “There is no achievement more valuable than a city where residents are happy,” adding, “I am sincerely pleased that the efforts of Mapo-gu, which ran 365 days a year with the belief that ‘public officials must be busy and hardworking for residents to be happy,’ have not been in vain.”

This survey result is interpreted as a product of Mayor Park Gang-su’s passion.

Since taking office in the 8th term of local government, Mayor Park has started his day with civil complaint inspections and has reportedly resolved about 430,000 complaints to date, drawing attention. In particular, through over 300 sessions of the ‘On-site Mayor’s Office’ where the mayor visits neighborhoods, he has achieved remarkable results such as resolving conflicts related to the development plan of Seongsan Neighborhood Park and solving the unregistered property issue of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartments, which remained unregistered for eight years due to lawsuits between owners and the association despite receiving completion approval in 2015. Additionally, ‘Filial Piety Exclusive Counters’ for seniors aged 75 and older have been established at each community service center, reportedly leading to high resident satisfaction.

Mayor Park’s actions are filled with relentless effort and passion toward the first district administration goal of ‘prompt civil complaint resolution.’ He walked more than 15,000 steps daily, covering various areas of Mapo-gu, totaling 8,600 km, equivalent to 540 round trips between Sangam-dong and Gongdeok-dong.

This perseverance and passion became the driving force to maximize the efficiency of complaint resolution. In particular, Mayor Park emphasized a field-oriented problem-solving approach. Believing that residents know their local issues best, he operates the On-site Mayor’s Office frequently to have residents and officials brainstorm solutions together on-site.

The On-site Mayor’s Office has been held over 300 times to date, enabling prompt complaint handling and receiving great response from residents. Mayor Park stated, “Resolving complaints is half of Mapo-gu’s administration,” and has never missed a day of complaint inspections to ensure swift handling.

Mayor Park’s passion and dedication have earned him praise as an ‘enthusiastic complaint resolver’ never seen before from residents and staff.

His passionate complaint resolution cases clearly show how tirelessly he works for residents. Regarding the Seongsan Neighborhood Park development plan, there was a two-year conflict between the district and residents over development and preservation. Mayor Park formed a win-win committee including local residents, officials, and experts, held multiple resident briefings and On-site Mayor’s Office sessions, and personally inspected the site. As a result, the original development plan was changed to a park restoration project that preserves the mountain as a mountain, resolving the conflict.

Another major case was solving the unregistered property issue of Gongdeok Ja-i Apartments. Despite receiving completion approval in 2015, the apartments remained unregistered for eight years due to lawsuits between owners and the association. This caused 1,164 households to face great difficulties exercising property rights worth approximately 1.56 trillion KRW. Mayor Park personally mediated meetings with involved parties, facilitating an agreement that dramatically resolved the long-standing issue and found a breakthrough in the registration problem.

Mayor Park Gang-su’s efforts and dedication have earned the trust and support of 370,000 Mapo-gu residents, reflected in the top ranking in Seoul’s happiness index.