Gwangjin-gu, Continued Support from Religious Communities to Overcome COVID-19

Religious Groups in Gwangjin-gu Donate Funds and Hand Sanitizers... Ongoing Efforts Include Online Services to Prevent COVID-19 Spread in the Community

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] In Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap), donations of money and preventive supplies from local religious organizations to support overcoming COVID-19 continue.

On the 17th, Korean Central Church (Senior Pastor Im Seok-sun, President of Gwangjin-gu Christian Association), located in Junggok 3-dong, donated 20 million won to Gwangjin-gu for purchasing masks.

A representative of Korean Central Church stated, "Seeing the continuous efforts of Gwangjin-gu Office and community center staff to protect the safety of residents from COVID-19, we decided to contribute to support them," and added, "We hope the donated funds will be used to purchase masks for vulnerable groups who find it difficult to buy preventive supplies due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation."

The district plans to purchase 20,000 masks with the donated funds received that day and distribute them to vulnerable groups in the area.

Also, Hwayang Methodist Church (Senior Pastor Choi Sang-hoon), located in Gunja-dong, donated 300 hand sanitizers to the district for COVID-19 prevention.

The district will distribute the hand sanitizers donated by Hwayang Methodist Church to multi-use facilities and vulnerable groups within the community.

Furthermore, local religious organizations continue their independent efforts to prevent COVID-19 and stop its spread in the region.

Fourteen major churches in the area, including Korean Central Church, are making efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by replacing Sunday worship services and early morning prayer meetings with online video services.

Additionally, seven Catholic churches in the area have suspended Masses at the Seoul Archdiocese level to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and major Buddhist temples in the region have also suspended their Dharma assemblies.

Mayor Kim Seon-gap said, "I sincerely thank the local religious organizations who sent support through donations and preventive supplies despite difficult circumstances to overcome the hardships caused by COVID-19 together," and added, "I also thank the religious community once again for practicing social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by suspending religious gatherings and replacing them with online video services."

He continued, "With the support and efforts of the religious community, we will continue to mobilize all administrative power and do our best to overcome COVID-19."

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Korea, the district has checked the preventive measures and supply status of 120 religious facilities in the area, listened to opinions from each facility to identify any risk factors, and provided mask support and disinfection activities.

Also, through official letters, the district requested that temperature checks, hand sanitizing, and mask-wearing be conducted upon entry for worship, Mass, and Dharma assemblies.

Recently, as part of social distancing, the district has been implementing a "temporary pause on religious ceremonies," continuously requesting cooperation from local religious facilities to refrain from Mass, worship, and Dharma assemblies, and is continuing efforts with the religious community to overcome COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.