Gwangju City: Creating Safe Routes to and from School

Joint "Children's Safety Campaign for the New School Year"
with Autonomous Districts, Office of Education, and Police

On the 12th, Gwangju City, along with autonomous districts, the City Office of Education, the Police Agency, and private organizations, conducted a "Safe Route to and from School Campaign" for the new semester at 20 elementary schools. Photo by Gwangju City

Gwangju City, together with its five autonomous districts, the city Office of Education, the police agency, and private organizations, conducted a joint “Children's Safety Campaign for the New School Year” at 20 elementary schools on the 12th.

Participants in the campaign included Ko Gwangwan, Gwangju City Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs, Lee Jeongseon, Superintendent of the City Office of Education, Lim Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, Kim Ikang, Mayor of Seo-gu, and Moon In, Mayor of Buk-gu.

The campaign participants promoted safety by holding hand signs and banners during elementary school students’ arrival times, focusing on ▲Stopping before crosswalks ▲Prohibiting parking and stopping in child protection zones ▲Providing healthy food options ▲Reporting potential hazards around schools through the Safety Sinmungo. In particular, they shared safety guidelines with students who frequently use public transportation, bicycles, and walk to school.

The campaign, which previously focused on traffic safety, has now expanded to include prevention activities for children's safety in food, product, and environmental safety, creating an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage action for child safety.

Ko Gwangwan, Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs, said, “Recently, concerns about children's safety have been increasing, making vigilance and effort more necessary than ever,” and urged, “Not only schools, children, and parents, but all citizens should pay attention to and practice child safety.”

Meanwhile, the “Children’s Safety Sinmungo,” which allows children to directly report safety hazards in daily life, has been in operation since the 7th. When children under the age of 13, including elementary school students, access the Safety Sinmungo, the interface automatically switches to a child-friendly reporting screen, simplifying the reporting process and making it easier to understand.