Dobong District to Implement 100 Welfare Projects This Year
Five Key Areas: Safety, Companionship, Learning, Leap, and Discovery
Introducing 13 New Initiatives, Including the Dobong-Style Mind Convenience Store "Rajite"
Dobong District in Seoul (District Mayor Oh Unseok) will implement 100 welfare projects this year. The district will allocate a budget of approximately 7.7 billion won for this purpose.
This year, the district has divided its initiatives into five major areas: safety, companionship, learning, leap, and discovery. It will carry out 100 projects that cover the entire life cycle and support socially vulnerable groups.
Looking at the numbers by year, the district implemented 59 projects in 2022, 70 projects in 2023, and 82 projects in 2024, continuously increasing the number of initiatives.
The results have been proven. In the "2024 Community Survey" conducted by Statistics Korea, Dobong District ranked first and second among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul in two categories related to satisfaction with social welfare services.
The district analyzed that its continuous research into welfare policies and the implementation of these policies as projects have been key factors in achieving these results.
This year, 13 new projects will be launched. Among them, the Dobong-style Mind Convenience Store "Rajite" project and the Dobong-style Disability-Friendly Hair Salon initiative stand out.
The Dobong-style Mind Convenience Store "Rajite" (an abbreviation for "Ramen Ajite") is a space where residents who feel lonely or isolated can visit comfortably and communicate with others.
This project was inspired by feedback from welfare center users who said, "It would be nice to have a place to talk while eating ramen."
The facility is located on the second floor of the Changdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center. The district plans to use the counseling spaces on the second floor to run various communication programs here.
The Dobong-style Disability-Friendly Hair Salon initiative is a project that partners with local hair salons to alleviate the difficulties faced by people with disabilities when using these facilities.
By May, the district will finish recruiting disability-friendly hair salons in all 14 neighborhoods. In May and June, it will install accessibility facilities such as ramps and tactile paving blocks at these locations to improve access for people with disabilities.
The full-scale operation is scheduled to begin in July. The district will provide support for assistive devices and supplies for hair salons serving people with disabilities. If additional budget is secured, the district also plans to provide a monthly subsidy of 10,000 won for hair salon use by people with severe disabilities.
The district also plans to further strengthen "Dobong Bokji-ro," which was launched two years ago. "Dobong Bokji-ro" is an integrated platform for Dobong-style welfare resources. Its biggest advantage is that it allows users to view a wide range of welfare resource (service) information from both the public and private sectors at a glance.
Since its launch in September 2023, "Dobong Bokji-ro" has been visited by about 38,254 people (as of April 2025) and has received very positive feedback from residents. Resident A commented, "If you simply enter your information in the 'My Customized Welfare Search' tab, you can find welfare services tailored exactly to your needs, which is really convenient."
The district has various improvements planned for the future. This month, it will enhance the search function and, within the first half of the year, will launch a resource-sharing bulletin board that can be managed jointly by the public and private sectors.
A district official stated, "We plan to go beyond simply providing information and offer more convenient and systematic welfare services in the future."
Oh Unseok, Mayor of Dobong District, said, "These 100 welfare projects are not just about increasing numbers, but about policies and initiatives that deeply permeate the lives of each and every resident. Moving forward, we will practice 'meticulous welfare that leaves no resident behind' and create a warm community where everyone can participate together."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
