Seongdong-gu Provides 'Chuseok Together Table' for Young Solo Dwellers During Chuseok

Delivering Holiday Meal Lunchboxes to 100 Young Adults, Applications Open Until the 24th... Focus on COVID-19 Youth Mental Health with 'Travel Special Lecture in Photos' and 'Youth Mind Counseling Center' Programs

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) has prepared the ‘Chuseok Together Table’ event for young single-person households who cannot visit their hometowns due to COVID-19 during the Chuseok holiday.

Although Chuseok is the biggest traditional holiday, it is not easy to visit hometowns due to COVID-19. Young single-person households, struggling with ongoing employment difficulties and social distancing, still feel frustrated even during Chuseok.

Accordingly, the Seongdong-gu Youth Support Center will deliver holiday meal lunchboxes to young single-person households who cannot visit their hometowns. They have prepared 100 lunchboxes consisting of holiday foods such as jeon (Korean pancakes) and japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), which will be distributed to pre-registered youths on the 25th in time slots.

A district official said, “This event was prepared to encourage social distancing during the holiday period while supporting young single-person households who have to spend the holiday alone.” He added, “The lunchboxes are prepared by young merchants from Ttukdo Market, who have been struggling with decreased sales due to COVID-19, aiming to help improve their sales even if only a little.”

The pre-registration, which started on the 19th, is very popular. “I was disappointed because I couldn’t go home due to hospital duty during Chuseok, but eating holiday food in a lunchbox for the first time will be a good experience” (Lee **), “I already sigh thinking about spending five lonely days alone, but I want to soothe my heart by eating holiday food” (Seo **), “It’s very frustrating because of COVID-19, but this kind of event really gives strength” (Kang **) and others have shared their stories, continuing the registration line. Applications are accepted until the 24th on the Seongdong-gu Youth Support Center website.

Earlier, on the 22nd, the district operated a healing program called ‘Travel in Photos Special Lecture’ to quench the thirst for travel among youths affected by COVID-19. Travel writer An Si-nae, author of ‘Not a Villain but World Conqueror,’ was invited to share her world travel experiences and deliver a message to youths facing difficulties due to COVID-19 to not lose courage and dreams through her story of becoming a bestselling travel writer. The lecture was broadcast live on YouTube and also held on-site with social distancing measures.

Additionally, since May, the district has been operating the ‘Urban Area Youth Mental Counseling Center’ to support psychological counseling for youths struggling with employment difficulties and prolonged social distancing due to COVID-19. Five professional counselors provide one-on-one and group counseling for various concerns and psychological difficulties faced by youths, such as career, interpersonal relationships, employment, family relationships, and dating, with 102 consultations conducted so far.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We will strive to discover various customized projects so that youths, who are going through a more difficult time than ever due to COVID-19, do not become neglected from social attention, and promote various policies that can protect their physical and mental health.”

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