Seongdong-gu's Top 10 News of 2024: No.1 'Success Bus'... No.3 Creation of '5-Minute Daily Garden City'

From November 29, 12-Day Online Survey with 2,245 Participants Shows ‘Seongdong-gu Public Facility Shuttle Bus’ Receives Greatest Support and Love... Policies Enhancing Resident Quality of Life Stand Out, Including Prevention-Focused Safety Management, Creation of Everyday Garden City, and Establishment of Senior Integrated Care (AIP)
Seongsu-dong Ranks 1st in Happiness Index Growth Rate and 4th as the World’s Most Wonderful Neighborhood, Elevating Seongdong-gu’s Status and Resident Pride

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) announced that it has selected the ‘Top 10 News of Seongdong-gu in 2024’ that received the most empathy and love from residents among the major projects promoted this year.

On November 29, the district conducted an online survey for 12 days to select the top 10 news items that resonated most among 20 major projects promoted in Seongdong-gu this year. A total of 2,245 people participated in the voting (5 votes per person, totaling 11,225 votes), and the ‘Seongdong-gu Public Facility Shuttle Bus’ was selected as the number one top news that shone in Seongdong-gu this year.

In October this year, Seongdong-gu attracted great attention by introducing the ‘Public Facility Shuttle Bus,’ which allows free use of essential public facilities within the district. The ‘Public Facility Shuttle Bus’ operates by connecting major public facilities in areas such as Geumho-dong, Eungbong-dong, Haengdang-dong, and Seongsu-dong, where there are gaps in public transportation routes due to the absence of village buses. It secured the public nature of transportation and established a sustainable Seongdong-type transportation system, receiving high praise for realizing transportation welfare that embraces all residents, earning the greatest empathy from residents.

Next, the policy of ‘Strengthening Prevention-Centered Safety Management’ was selected as second place. Seongdong-gu has received high external evaluations for its proactive safety management projects, including ranking first nationwide in the disaster management evaluation hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and being selected as an excellent autonomous district for intensive safety inspections in Seoul for three consecutive years.

In particular, it was the first local government in the country to apply security service deployment reports to the social disaster category of mass crowd incidents, establishing a prevention-centered crowd accident safety management system based on information cooperation with related organizations, which received positive responses from residents.

This year, Seongdong-gu focused on creating a ‘5-Minute Daily Garden City’ where residents can enjoy the benefits of gardens and green spaces close to their homes anywhere, ranking third in the top 10 news. Starting with the ‘Garden City Seongdong Proclamation Ceremony’ in May, the district provided healing and rest in residents’ daily lives through projects such as the ‘Children’s Dream Garden,’ ‘Seongdong Flower Maru,’ ‘Hangang Signature Garden,’ training village gardeners, and opening the Seongdong Gardening Center.

Following this, the establishment of the ‘Seongdong-type Integrated Senior Care System’ ranked fourth. Seongdong-gu is promoting various inclusive policies so that no one is left out and all residents can enjoy happiness in their daily lives. This year, special efforts were made to lay the foundation for providing integrated services such as housing, medical care, and healing according to the health status and needs of seniors, enabling them to spend a healthy old age (AIP) in their homes and communities.

Efforts to realize the ‘Inclusive City Seongdong,’ promoted since the 6th elected term, led to the ‘2023 Seoul Survey results’ ranking first in ‘Happiness Index Growth Rate’ and ‘Inclusive Attitude toward Socially Vulnerable Groups,’ placing fifth in the top 10 news. As of 2022, the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) also ranked first among Seoul’s autonomous districts, receiving recognition for simultaneously achieving economic growth and inclusion.

Next, the selection of Seongsu-dong as the ‘4th Most Awesome Neighborhood in the World’ by the famous British travel magazine ‘Timeout’ was ranked sixth. Residents took pride in and highly evaluated Seongsu-dong’s elevated status as it leapt beyond being the ‘Brooklyn of Korea’ to becoming ‘Seongsu in the World,’ a result of the red brick building support project, gentrification prevention policies, and urban regeneration projects.

The achievement of securing safety through ‘Improvement of Congestion and Pedestrian Environment at Exit 3 of Seongsu Station,’ including relocating and demolishing business facilities and street vendors, installing protective fences, colored blocks, and unmanned camera (CCTV) monitoring, also ranked seventh with residents’ empathy.

Declaration Ceremony of the Everyday Garden City

Finally, the operation of the ‘Seongdong Welfare Comprehensive Counseling Center,’ which provides comprehensive and professional one-stop counseling services reflecting residents’ diverse and complex welfare needs, the expansion of ‘Smart Smoking Booths’ considerate of both smokers and non-smokers, and the ‘Complete Demolition of Majang-dong Food Alley after 35 Years’ followed.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Seongdong-gu has promoted various projects this year to add happiness to residents’ lives and bring about positive changes, and I believe these efforts are reflected in the ‘Top 10 News of Seongdong-gu in 2024’ directly chosen by residents. We will continue to pay close attention so that residents can enjoy a safe and peaceful daily life and finish the year well, and we will do our best next year as well to enrich residents’ lives and create Seongdong as a city where everyone wants to live.”