Uijeongbu's Three Years of "Care for All" Welfare Innovation
Care Innovation Rooted in the Field... Addressing Welfare Blind Spots
Opening of "Uijeongbu City Social Welfare Center" Connecting Welfare, Citizens, and Governance
A Place for Seniors to Pause... Operation of "Hoho-dang" with Laughter and Leisure
"The dignity of a city is determined by how much its socially vulnerable members are respected and able to live their lives."
The welfare philosophy declared by Uijeongbu Mayor Kim Donggeun at the start of the 8th popularly elected administration, under the name "Care for All," has gradually materialized into concrete achievements over the past three years.
Visit to the site of public-private partnership welfare project as part of the 'Care Life Field' initiative. Provided by Uijeongbu City
According to Uijeongbu City on July 6, the city has established a customized welfare system that encompasses everyone from children to seniors, people with disabilities, and single-person households in middle age and beyond. The city is implementing welfare administration that reaches the blind spots that are difficult to address through systems alone, by providing the "closest helping hand."
"Care for All" consists of three main areas?Uijeongbu-style care, welfare design governance, and addressing welfare blind spots?with a total of 11 projects. It is evolving into a new form of welfare governance in which the administration, citizens, and private resources cooperate.
In particular, Uijeongbu City is discovering neighbors left in the shadows of the system and developing tailored solutions on-site through the "Care Life Field" project, where the mayor and public officials directly visit care sites. They have visited care sites such as seniors living alone, senior centers, self-sufficiency enterprises, and childcare facilities multiple times, promoting policies based on citizens' voices. In one actual case involving a child from a single-parent family living in poor conditions, the public, private sector, and citizens together raised support funds to help with relocation and settlement, leading to tangible change.
The "Care Life Field" project is operated by having the mayor and public officials directly visit welfare sites to identify problems and implement improvements.
In one case, when the city identified a child from a single-parent family living in a difficult environment, it collaborated with Dream Start, welfare centers, and private organizations to solve housing issues and help the child adapt to a new environment. This was the result of close cooperation between the administration, private sector, and citizens.
The "Susekdae" project, aimed at preventing lonely deaths among middle-aged single-person households, is a care initiative independently planned by Uijeongbu City and launched in July 2023. Committees from 15 district community welfare councils and honorary social welfare officials (Happy Bridge) deliver bottled water weekly and check on the well-being of single-person households.
Initially, some recipients did not open their doors, but after repeated visits, they gradually opened up, and some even became volunteers themselves.
As of March 2025, the project had visited target households 4,137 times. These repeated visits have led to the formation of emotional connections, resulting in positive changes such as voluntary social participation.
In addition, Uijeongbu City plans to continue expanding its citizen-centered care system by connecting various practical projects, including honorary social welfare officials "Happy Bridge," SOS emergency support for urgent situations, care for people with disabilities, childcare, and age-friendly care for seniors.
"Restorative relationship-based welfare," which reconnects people to society through emotional exchange, is operating in the field.
In December 2023, Uijeongbu City completed and began full-scale operation of the Uijeongbu City Social Welfare Center, a long-awaited goal in the local welfare community.
As part of the "Care Life Field" initiative, visiting heatwave-vulnerable households. Provided by Uijeongbu City
As the first citizen participation-based welfare platform in Gyeonggi Province, it is an open space accessible not only to social workers but also to any citizen interested in welfare.
This center, which consists of offices for welfare organizations, community rooms, and shared offices, functions as a hub for welfare governance created jointly by the public sector, private sector, and citizens, going beyond merely providing "office space."
Uijeongbu City also stands out for its pioneering efforts in the field of welfare for people with disabilities.
For the first time among local governments nationwide, the city reached an agreement with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to allow family members caring for people with the most severe disabilities to be officially recognized as activity support workers.
Under the previous system, family members could not become activity support workers, resulting in care gaps. However, the city's proactive response resolved this issue and even allocated related budgets, enabling stable policy implementation.
Efforts to make the city a better place to raise children are also ongoing. The city is developing the nation's first "Childcare Facility Cluster" on a site of about 13,000 square meters in the Gosan District. This cluster, created in cooperation with LH and scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, will be an all-in-one complex that integrates national and public daycare centers, care centers, children's libraries, and indoor playgrounds, providing comprehensive spaces for childcare, education, and leisure.
As part of efforts to create an age-friendly city, "Hoho-dang," located under Hyoja Station in Singok-dong, is a senior-exclusive community lounge equipped with mind sports spaces such as Go and Janggi, as well as community rooms.
It is receiving a positive response, with more than 150 people using it daily on average, and a second branch is scheduled to open in August at Haengbok Nuri Park in Ganeung-dong.
This space is expected to gradually expand as a welfare facility where seniors can relax and maintain social connections.
Mayor Kim Donggeun stated, "Uijeongbu-style welfare is not a system created by the administration alone, but a life safety net completed by all citizens holding each other's hands. The city will continue to take responsibility and provide support on the journey to build a 'Care for All' city where no one?from children to seniors and people with disabilities?is left behind."
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