Resumption of Youth Playground Operations in Seongbuk-gu

Resumption of Operations at 8 Youth Facilities Including Boy Playground 'Bangwahyu'... Temporary Opening with Pre-Reservation and Special Programs, Usage Limited to 10 People or Fewer

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) will resume operations of eight youth playgrounds and youth facilities such as the Youth Culture Sharing Center, which had been closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, starting from the 3rd.

To this end, the district has completed on-site inspections in advance and is accelerating preparations to welcome youth.

According to a Seongbuk-gu official, for the month of August, the district will temporarily operate the facilities by implementing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s “Youth Facility Social Distancing Stepwise Operation Resumption Recommendation,” applying Step 1: ‘Pre-reservation system for up to 10 people and special program application system.’

From September, according to Step 2 of the quarantine guidelines, such as ‘Admission limit of 30 to 50 people,’ the district plans to disperse the number of users by time slots and begin full-scale operations.

During the facility closure period, the district not only conducted quarantine measures but also prepared thoroughly for a substantial reopening. In June, a job competency workshop was held for staff and play curators, sharing the daily situations of youth who have been in a prolonged psychological and physical tension state due to COVID-19, and continued research on the role of play-right base facilities and various operation methods for the new daily lives of youth.

The ‘Youth Playground’ directly operated by the district involves youth participation in the operation planning and design process. Play curators, who are majors or experienced individuals in related fields such as art, music, and physical education, are hired to provide a space where youth can freely play and rest for free from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Currently, there are eight such playgrounds in Seongbuk-gu, but due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, they were closed on February 7 and have been completely suspended since then.

Seongbuk-gu Mayor Lee Seung-ro stated, “During the closure period, we continuously conducted facility inspections and quarantine measures to ensure a smooth reopening. We will do our best to protect the safety of youth and promote their right to play through thorough hygiene management and strengthened quarantine. We also plan to develop ‘non-face-to-face play content’ to lead the new daily lives of youth after COVID-19 and widely research operation methods.”

Detailed information and applications for the various programs held at each youth playground are available through the ‘Play Seongbuk’ website.

Seongbuk-gu announced that it has completed the construction of the ‘Jangwi Youth Culture Nurim Center,’ a youth culture-exclusive space with one basement floor and three above-ground floors, totaling 477.38㎡ in Jangwi-dong, and plans to open it in September.

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