First Local Government Nationwide to Distribute AI Robots Equipped with Dedicated English Education Software for Children
Comprehensive English Learning and Emotional Care Through Daily Conversations with AI Robot "Paibo"
At the Briefing on the 6th, 30 Beneficiary Elementary Students Receive Robots and Tablet PCs, Face-to-Face Classes Also Provided
Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) held a briefing session on the "Elementary School Students AI Friend Robot Project" on the 6th, announcing that it will be the first local government nationwide to distribute AI robots specialized in children's English education.
Last year, the district applied for the Seoul Testbed Demonstration Project to improve the quality of educational welfare using smart technology and secured a total of 300 million KRW in funding. The main focus of the project is to provide emotional care during childhood and high-quality English education through the AI attachment robot "Paibo."
The "Paibo" introduced by the district is a humanoid robot boasting versatility, capable of everyday conversations including English conversation, English learning, singing, and dancing. As an "AI friend," it can initiate conversations and exchange emotions to fill human emotional gaps.
In particular, the district has devoted efforts to developing exclusive English learning software for the AI robot. It provides learning content that can be used in conjunction with the robot and tablet PCs to thoroughly prepare for school curricula, including not only English conversation but also reading and writing. It is expected that users will be able to improve their English skills evenly by utilizing various devices.
On the day, the district held a briefing session for the "Elementary School Students AI Friend Robot Project" and awarded participation certificates to 30 elementary school students selected as beneficiaries. On-site, robot demonstrations and user training for mastering robot usage were conducted amid enthusiastic interest from the children.
The beneficiary students will receive the AI robot friend "Paibo" and tablet PCs throughout this year and begin in-depth English study. The district plans to provide full support to ensure efficient learning at home by conducting face-to-face classes once a month to check learning progress. Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, "We focused on introducing cutting-edge technology in line with the times to the future leaders and providing broad educational opportunities," adding, "We will do our best to support beneficiary students during the project period so that they can feel warm emotional support and maximize their potential."
2025 Mapo-gu Regional Culture and Arts Events and Festival Support Project Call for Applications
Supporting the creative activities of cultural artists and expanding opportunities for residents to enjoy culture and arts
Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) will recruit participating organizations for the "2025 Regional Culture and Arts Events and Festival Support Project," which selects and supports events and festivals that can contribute to the development of local culture and arts, from February 10 to February 24.
As a cultural and artistic hub, Mapo-gu operates a support project annually for private art groups to discover high-quality cultural and artistic events and festivals by supporting the creative and free activities of local cultural artists.
Applicants must have their main office located in Mapo-gu as of the announcement date (February 10) and be a corporation, private organization, or individual capable of organizing events or festivals.
The call is divided into "Events" and "Festivals" categories, with a total project budget of 190 million KRW. The "Events" category targets projects such as performances, exhibitions, and writing contests that can enhance the image of culture and arts, with a total support amount of 40 million KRW. Selected organizations can receive support ranging from 2 million KRW to 10 million KRW. The "Festivals" category, with a total support scale of 150 million KRW, seeks organizations capable of carrying out complex cultural and artistic programs, providing support from 2 million KRW to 30 million KRW.
Applications can be submitted through the Botaem e-System after checking the announcement posted in the Notices section on the Mapo-gu Office website.
Submitted projects will undergo document screening, selection committee review, and subsidy review committee evaluation to select final supported organizations. The results will be announced in March on the Mapo-gu Office website and the Botaem e-System.
Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "We hope this call for projects will provide local cultural artists with opportunities to showcase creative and innovative ideas and invigorate the cultural and artistic community in Mapo-gu," adding, "As Mapo-gu is a representative cultural and artistic center of Korea, we ask for much interest and participation in this call for projects."
Shingles Vaccination for Seniors Aged 65 and Over Who Have Resided in Nowon-gu for More Than 6 Months
From this year, selective vaccination introduced once... Live vaccine free, recombinant vaccine partially supported
Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will expand practical support by introducing "selective vaccination" for free shingles vaccination for seniors starting this year.
Shingles occurs when the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox in childhood and remains dormant in the body, reactivates when immunity decreases. It causes rashes and severe pain, with incidence increasing with age; patients aged 60 to 70 are the most common, and about 30% of elderly patients experience postherpetic neuralgia.
However, the vaccine supported by the district has been a live vaccine, which has limitations as it cannot be administered to immunocompromised seniors or those undergoing cancer treatment.
To address this, the district improved the support system from this year to allow one-time selective vaccination between the attenuated live vaccine and the recombinant vaccine. The live vaccine is fully supported free of charge, and partial costs for the recombinant vaccine are subsidized.
The free shingles vaccination support targets seniors aged 65 and over (born on or before December 31, 1960) who have resided in Nowon-gu for more than six months and have no history of shingles vaccination. Seniors who have had shingles can also be vaccinated after 6 to 12 months.
Those wishing to be vaccinated should bring their ID and a resident registration abstract including address changes within the past year to a nearby designated medical institution. The Nowon-gu website lists 211 designated medical institutions in the area.
Mr. ㄱ, a resident of Sanggye-dong, said, "Because I am undergoing cancer treatment, the hospital told me that live vaccine vaccination was not possible. I hesitated to get the recombinant vaccine due to its high cost, but I am very grateful to hear that Nowon-gu supports recombinant vaccine vaccination, so I was able to get vaccinated."
The district began free shingles vaccination for seniors aged 75 and over in 2023 and expanded the target to those aged 65 and over last year. As a result, out of 100,467 eligible seniors, 57,388 have completed vaccination, including 34,845 who received free vaccination through district support, achieving a 57.1% vaccination rate. Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "Introducing selective vaccination for shingles is the result of continuous efforts to provide more practical benefits to seniors," adding, "We will continue to develop and implement various policies so that more seniors can enjoy a healthy old age."
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