Nowon-gu Wins Korea Healthy City Award for Two Consecutive Years

Former District Residents' Walking Promotion 'Nowon, Let's Walk and Be Healthy!' Wins Grand Prize, Following Last Year's Excellence Award for Two Consecutive Years... Praised for Declaring Nowon a Walking City Since the 7th Local Government and Improving Walking Practice Rate

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has won the Grand Prize at the ‘2020 Korea Healthy City Awards.’

This award, presented annually by the Korea Healthy Cities Association, is given to local governments that have demonstrated achievements in improving residents' health and quality of life, targeting 102 member cities nationwide.

Following last year's Excellence Award for the ’Running School, Healthy School, Nowon HELP (Healthy Eating Let’s Play)‘ project, a health management system for the proper growth of children and adolescents, this marks the second consecutive year of winning an award.

This year, the district received the Grand Prize largely due to the walking promotion campaign for all residents launched under the slogan ‘Nowon, Let’s Walk and Exercise!’

In 2017, the walking practice rate among residents was 47.7%, the lowest among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

To improve this, in September 2018, the district established a Healthy City Team within the public health center and became the first basic local government nationwide to enact the ‘Physical Activity Promotion Ordinance,’ actively encouraging residents to engage in physical activities.

In June last year, under the slogan ‘Nowon, Let’s Walk! Let’s Be Healthy,’ the ‘Walking City Nowon’ proclamation ceremony was held, and a research project was conducted to assess residents’ physical activity status.

This was to identify the living environment factors affecting residents’ health.

Additionally, an action plan was developed to address ‘lack of physical activity,’ which was selected as the top priority through voting by 711 residents and experts.

Representative concrete projects to spread the walking culture include online walking events using the walking app ‘WalkOn’ and the ‘Nowon Dulle Mountain Trail Stamp Tour.’

Walking clubs, voluntarily run by local residents, are also popular. Thirty-one walking clubs with 508 members regularly meet to practice walking in daily life, supported by 31 activists who completed the district’s Level 2 Walking Leader training course.

Thanks to these efforts, the residents’ walking practice rate, which was 47.7% in 2017, rose to 63.3% in 2019, ranking among the top in Seoul (7th out of 25 districts).

Meanwhile, the district is actively utilizing its unique advantage of a good natural environment by creating healing towns in different zones, scheduled for completion in 2022. Currently, circular walking trails have been created around Bulamsan Butterfly Garden and Yeongchuksan to provide comfortable walking paths, while azalea hills, wildflower gardens, musical fountains, DJ music broadcasts, and light gardens have been completed along Danghyeoncheon Stream and the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail, which residents frequently enjoy.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Walking exercise is the most effective small but certain happiness that can be practiced in daily life for health,” adding, “In line with the post-COVID-19 era, we will focus all our administrative capabilities on normalizing walking so that all residents can develop into a healthy and happy healthy city.”

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