'Like Pilado Apartment'... Two More Villa Management Offices Expanded in Gangbuk-gu

Mia and Songjung-dong, Suyu 2-dong Fully Operational from This Month
District Chief Lee Soon-hee: "Expansion to All Neighborhoods Within Term"

Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, attended the opening ceremony of the Suyu 2-dong Villa Management Office on the 11th and delivered a greeting. Provided by Gangbuk-gu.

Seoul's Gangbuk-gu district (Mayor Lee Soon-hee), the first in the nation to operate a villa management office, has started operations this month in two additional areas: Suyu 2-dong and Mia·Songjung-dong. The district plans to expand villa management offices to all neighborhoods within Gangbuk-gu within the next two years.

The Mia·Songjung area, where the villa management office is now operating, covers approximately 150,000㎡ in the Mia-dong 258 area, while Suyu 2-dong spans about 260,000㎡ from Gwangsan Intersection to the April 19th Democratic Cemetery area, both densely populated with aging villas. These areas have seen many elderly residents expressing difficulties in housing management.

Gangbuk-gu is a region where villas account for 46% of all housing, partly due to restrictions in the Bukhansan altitude district. Reflecting these regional characteristics, the villa management office is a district-run project supporting cleaning, patrols, parking, and communal facility management around villas and alleyways.

Due to the nature of villas lacking a management entity, residential areas densely packed with villas have experienced frequent conflicts among residents over issues such as garbage and parking. The villa management office was conceived by Mayor Lee Soon-hee to address these challenges. Since March last year, the district has been refining the operation system through a pilot program in Beon 1-dong.

In the Beon 1-dong project area, villa management managers regularly oversee waste disposal sites around villas, resulting in the disappearance of habitual illegal dumping spots and cleaner streets, significantly improving residents' living environments.

On the 11th and 12th of last month, the district held opening ceremonies for villa management offices in the two areas of Suyu 2-dong and Mia·Songjung-dong. Along with expanding the project areas, the district plans to enhance and expand the villa management office services by incorporating residents' feedback, including support for installing recycling bins, installation of CCTV for illegal dumping monitoring, consulting support for maintenance of shared facilities such as rooftop waterproofing and wall repairs, detection of hidden cameras in public restrooms, installation of safety bells in villa alleys, community activation-linked resident participation projects, and comprehensive guidance and linkage of district services.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee stated, "Everyone should be guaranteed the right to enjoy a pleasant living environment, even if they do not live in apartments," adding, "We will expand villa management offices to all neighborhoods during my term."

Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu (second from the left), is having a conversation with local residents at the opening ceremony of the Mia·Songjung Villa Management Office on the 12th of last month. Provided by Gangbuk-gu.