Seongnam City Opens Newly Built Indoor Children's Traffic Education Center
Complete with Facilities for Traffic, Fire, and Disaster Safety Experiences
Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sangjin) has opened a newly constructed indoor children's traffic education center at Hwangsong Park in Sangdaewon-dong, Jungwon-gu (41 Geumbit-ro 2beon-gil), and began full-scale operations this month.
Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin is training children to cross the crosswalk safely at the Seongnam Children's Traffic Education Center on the 8th. Provided by Seongnam City
During his visit to the education center on the 8th, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, "We will do our best to ensure that more children can learn about safety as if they are playing, and that this place becomes an experience center where they can realize the importance of traffic safety on their own."
In December 2022, the city began construction of the indoor education center with the goal of providing a practical education space to prevent children's traffic accidents and establish a safe traffic culture. After about two and a half years of preparation, the center has now opened.
The center has a total floor area of 498.75 square meters and has been created as a comprehensive safety experience space where children can learn not only about traffic safety but also about disaster situations such as fires and earthquakes through hands-on experiences. The existing outdoor education center (1,093 square meters) will also continue to operate. From now on, both indoor and outdoor education will be offered in parallel, making it possible to provide experience-based education throughout the year regardless of season or weather.
Seongnam City's children's traffic safety education targets children in local daycare centers, kindergartens, and lower grades of elementary schools (ages 4 to 8). The program is conducted three times a day (10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.), with around 40 children per session. All education is provided free of charge.
The education program consists of experiential content tailored to children's perspectives. In addition to essential traffic safety education such as crossing crosswalks safely, recognizing traffic signs, reporting procedures in case of an accident, and safe boarding and disembarking from buses, children can also learn safety rules for disaster situations, including evacuation procedures during a fire, how to use a fire extinguisher, and earthquake response guidelines. Thanks to the structure that allows children to virtually experience real-life situations, they can naturally develop safety habits as if they are playing.
The new education center is operated by the Gachon University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation under a private consignment system, with two full-time administrative staff and two part-time instructors assigned, ensuring both professionalism and sustainability in its operation.
Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, "With the full-scale operation of the children's traffic education center equipped with both indoor and outdoor facilities, we expect that children will be able to develop the ability to cope with crisis situations on their own and naturally acquire a sense of safety." He added, "We will continue to create practical safety education environments that meet the expectations of our citizens."
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