Full Support for Lunch at Senior Centers in Dongdaemun-gu 5 Days a Week... Operation of 'Side Dish Delivery-Type Meals'

‘Side Dish Delivery Meal’ Program Begins for 660 Seniors at 33 Senior Centers from February
Fresh Meals Provided in Partnership with Local Side Dish Companies
Lunch Helpers and Senior Center Managers Assigned

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) will fully support a five-day-a-week lunch program at senior centers starting in February.

After confirming high satisfaction among the elderly through a pilot operation last year, the district plans to operate the customized lunch support project for each senior center, ‘Morak Morak,’ more systematically from this year.

‘Morak Morak’ carries the meaning of supporting a warm meal where health and affection bloom like steam rising from warm rice for the elderly.

As of December 2024, the population aged 65 and over in South Korea has exceeded 20% of the total population, making it an increasingly important task to maintain the health and social relationships of the elderly.

With the increase in elderly people living alone, the need for stable lunch support is growing, making the community-based role of senior centers even more important. Through the ‘Morak Morak’ project, the district plans to support the healthy eating habits of the elderly and enable senior centers to play a central role in elderly welfare.

The district provides lunch support tailored to the situation of each senior center. For 38 senior centers capable of self-cooking, monthly operating expenses (up to 650,000 KRW per month) are additionally supported to help stable meal operations, while for 33 senior centers where cooking is difficult, a method of delivering side dishes and soup every morning has been introduced.

In particular, the ‘Side Dish Delivery Meal’ program, implemented from this year, delivers three types of side dishes and one type of soup cooked every morning directly from the local side dish company ‘Sumichan,’ allowing the elderly to easily enjoy their meals.

Additionally, lunch helpers and senior center managers are assigned to assist with side dish receipt, meal distribution, and hygiene management.

Kim ○○ (82), an elderly participant, said, “When I prepare meals alone, I eat roughly, but coming here allows me to have warm soup and side dishes comfortably, which makes me feel physically and mentally secure.” He added, “Eating together naturally leads to more conversations, and my days have become more enjoyable.”

To ensure stable operation of the project, Dongdaemun-gu signed a ‘Tripartite Agreement on Senior Center Lunch Side Dish and Delivery Support’ on January 24. The agreement ceremony was attended by Mayor Lee Pil-hyung, Kim Jin-kyung, President of the Korea Senior Citizens Association Dongdaemun Branch, and Heo Dae-hoe, CEO of the side dish delivery company ‘Sumichan,’ who joined hands to promote smooth project implementation.

Mayor Lee Pil-hyung of Dongdaemun-gu stated, “Through this project, I hope the elderly can share warm meals together, take care of their health, and talk about their daily lives. We will do our best to ensure the elderly have a healthy and vibrant old age.”

Dongdaemun-gu Launches Citizen Informatization Education

Training on PC, Smartphone, Kiosk Usage... New Smart Farm Experience Added

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) is conducting ‘Citizen Informatization Education’ for those who have difficulty using digital devices such as PCs, smartphones, and kiosks.

The education will take place from February to November at four Dongdaemun-gu informatization education centers (Yongdu 1, Jeonnong, Jangan, Hwikyung) and Dongdaemun-gu Office.

This year’s citizen informatization education offers lessons on ▲smartphone usage ▲KakaoTalk utilization ▲Excel and Hangul program usage ▲Chat GPT utilization ▲AI video content creation, among others.

In particular, the ‘Kiosk Usage’ class, which was previously conducted during breaks, has been organized into a separate course starting this year. A new ‘Smart Farm Experience’ has also been introduced, where children can grow vegetables in smart farm facilities and cook with the harvested vegetables.

Any Dongdaemun-gu resident can apply, and participants must make a reservation in advance through the Dongdaemun-gu reservation portal or call center during the monthly application period to attend.

Mayor Lee Pil-hyung of Dongdaemun-gu said, “I hope this informatization education will serve as an opportunity to enhance the digital utilization capabilities of our citizens.”