Famous Mailbox at Seong Yosep Apartment, Jungnim-dong, Jung-gu

Old Apartment Entrance Begins Communication with Expressive Mailbox Installation... Welfare Center and Urban Regeneration Resident Council Lead Resident Change Supported by Jung-gu Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] When you enter the entrance of Seong Yosep Apartment in Jungnim-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, you will notice a unique mailbox that cannot be seen elsewhere. This mailbox, filled with colorful flowers and butterflies with dazzling wings, makes one wonder whose idea it was.

The beginning is intriguing.

Seong Yosep Apartment, built in 1970, is the first corridor-type mixed-use residential apartment in Korea with a distinctive architectural style. It is currently protected as a future heritage site designated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. However, with a history of 50 years, the apartment has a high proportion of elderly residents and houses welfare case management targets, drawing special attention from Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) and Jungnim Comprehensive Social Welfare Center (Director Lee Woon-hee).

Although the Jungnim-dong area was selected as the Seoul Station area urban regeneration activation zone in 2016, focusing on urban regeneration that coexists with residents rather than development, and the dilapidated building opposite the apartment was confirmed as the anchor facility ‘Jungnim Warehouse,’ the time at Seong Yosep Apartment, where elderly residents live, was passing slowly despite the rapidly changing surrounding environment.

In response, the welfare center joined hands with the Seoul Station area Urban Regeneration Support Center (hereafter the Center) to start improving the apartment’s issues one by one.

A Seong Yosep subcommittee was formed within the resident council, an urban regeneration governance organization, to encourage residents to share their stories and recognize problems themselves. The welfare center and the Center confirmed the need for intervention for apartment environment improvement and vulnerable residents through individual home visits. Thanks to this, residents began to take an interest in apartment management, and a resident-led community culture started to sprout.

Subsequently, the apartment residents, Jungnim Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, and Seoul Station area Urban Regeneration Support Center collaborated to challenge the Seoul Station area urban regeneration resident public project. Responding to residents’ suggestion to install mailboxes that had never existed before, they connected with the local Manlil-dong Artists’ Cooperative Makcoop, and the mailbox production involving direct resident participation began. They decided on installation locations, designs, and materials, and residents attended mailbox production workshops to contribute to the coloring.

The mailboxes at the entrance of Seong Yosep Apartment, which look like a piece of spring transplanted as they are, were born this way. Such small changes gave great strength to the apartment residents. It helped share major apartment issues and push forward the long-awaited project of replacing water pipes.

Going forward, the residents of Seong Yosep Apartment plan to share village issues through regular meetings and neighborhood gatherings, while the district office and welfare center will support from the front and back to nurture the autonomous capacity of the village community.

A welfare center official stated that beyond existing material support, they will contribute to improving the welfare of Jung-gu residents through welfare that enhances quality of life and happiness.

Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "The people with the greatest capacity to solve village problems are the residents themselves, and it is also the residents who bring about change in the village. This has been the driving force behind the district office’s Dong government initiative since last year. If residents take the lead and administrative agencies provide support, a happy resident autonomy that is felt firsthand can be established quickly."

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