A Book-Reading Public Official Creates 'Book-Reading Nowon'... Nowon-gu Certified as an Excellent Reading Management Workplace for 9 Consecutive Years

252 Public and Private Sites Certified and Recertified... Nowon is the Only Local Government Certified for 9 Consecutive Years
Excellent Employee Reading Support System for Communication, Healing, Self-Development, and Job Competency Enhancement
Committed to Expanding Reading Culture for Residents with 10-Minute Walk Library Infrastructure and Nowon Residents' One Book Reading Program

Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has been certified as an excellent reading management workplace for ‘9 consecutive years,’ the only local government to receive this recognition.

The ‘Excellent Reading Management Workplace Certification System’ is a program that identifies companies and institutions practicing reading-friendly management annually and certifies them under the name of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In its 11th year of implementation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereafter MCST), together with the Korea Publication Culture Industry Promotion Agency, selected 252 excellent workplaces this year, and Nowon-gu was certified as a ‘re-certified’ institution.

The reading culture activation project carried out by the district for its public officials centers on the core values of ‘sharing and communication.’

Fifteen ‘reading clubs,’ each consisting of 3 to 6 employees, grow into groups that read and share books together and naturally become accustomed to a healthy culture of discussion. Close colleagues can also form pairs for ‘buddy reading’ activities (120 teams annually). Both reading clubs and buddy reading receive support for activity expenses and book costs, and the list of books chosen through the clubs and buddy reading is made public for all employees to see.

Reading Club 'Dailgeosseu' Activities

Efforts to communicate also include ‘Meet the Author’ events where employees can directly meet and converse with writers, and the operation of a channel based on the ‘Nowon-in’s Library’ community within the administrative portal to share each other’s reading activities.

For employees who prefer personal reading activities, 100 people are selected annually by lottery to receive e-book subscriptions, and a special one-day paid reading leave (賜暇讀書) is also granted each year.

The atmosphere encouraging employees to naturally recharge, develop themselves, and strengthen their job competencies through reading is evident even in the district office building. When remodeling the first-floor lobby, an open book caf? was created with a collection of over 3,000 volumes and a 9-meter-long solid wood table, allowing employees and residents to use it freely. Environments where books can be accessed are also provided in the district office’s resource room, which has been in operation for some time, and in newly established employee rest areas within the building.

The district’s policy will to spread a reading culture in daily life is not limited to its employees. It is creating a ‘10-minute walking library infrastructure’ including five new libraries by expanding public libraries, small libraries, and smart libraries.

A social reading movement is also underway where residents select books together, share good books, and spread them within the community. Marking its 10th year, the ‘Nowon-gu One Book Reading’ program selected Kim Yeon-su’s novel An Ordinary Future Like This and Kim Yu’s picture book Saja Mart this year.

It is also noteworthy that Nowon-gu is the only autonomous district in Seoul to operate a permanent Human Library where ‘people become books.’ Instead of books, ‘human books’ with experience and knowledge in specific fields can be borrowed and met. Mayor Oh Seung-rok is also registered as a human book in the field of political science under the theme ‘The Virtues of Politicians: Empathy and Passion.’

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I am pleased that our district’s administrative organization took the lead in creating an environment where books can be close to life, resulting in recognition as a good policy. We will strive to ensure that a reading-friendly workplace culture leads to high-quality administrative services for our residents.”

District Office Lobby Book Cafe