Jongno District Mayor Kim Young-jong, Who Introduced the Concept of 'Happiness' in Administration, on His 'Happiness Theory'?

Kim Young-jong, Mayor of Jongno-gu, Seoul (3rd term), Elected Chairman of the Local Governments for Happiness Realization Council on the 16th... Explains Background of Introducing Happiness Concept into Administration

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Administration ultimately exists for the happiness of residents. Especially local administration, which is closely connected to residents' daily lives, should make residents happy through various projects.”

This is what Kim Young-jong, the Mayor of Jongno-gu, Seoul (serving his third term), said during a phone call on the 17th after being elected as the Chairperson of the Local Governments for Happiness Realization Council the day before.

Chairman Kim explained, “Happiness is not something visible, but by introducing the concept of ‘happiness’ into various administrative areas such as urban planning projects, reducing health disparities, and narrowing educational gaps, we aim to make all residents happy.”

For example, resolving conflicts in redevelopment areas or keeping the streets clean also brings happiness to residents. Furthermore, creating a society where people trust and help each other in times of difficulty ultimately leads to a happy world.

Since January 2015, Mayor Kim established the nation’s first dedicated happiness team, enacted the first ‘Resident Happiness Promotion Ordinance’ in Seoul in 2017, and developed the Jongno Happiness Index in 2018.

Additionally, the Jongno Happiness Dream Project, which discusses and implements happiness in Jongno based on resident participation, is actively underway.

In this way, he prioritizes residents’ happiness as the top value in district administration and strives to devise practical measures to enhance residents’ happiness.

Chairman Kim emphasized, “Reducing the conflict index increases social stability,” and “Increasing residents’ happiness through various administrative actions.”

He argued that, like the three Nordic countries?Denmark, Sweden, and Finland?that trust each other and provide healthcare without worry, Korea should become such a country.

From this perspective, he explained that happiness in administration is by no means an unattainable ideal.

So, how can residents be made happy?

First, he stressed the importance of health. He mentioned starting with reducing fine dust and creating a pleasant living environment to ensure residents’ health.

He also explained that to resolve regional imbalances, when comparing Pyeongchang-dong and Changsin-dong in Jongno-gu, more efforts are needed to build sports centers, libraries, welfare centers, and other public benefits in Changsin-dong.

Chairman Kim predicted, “Whoever the 2022 presidential candidate is, they will come forward saying they will create ‘happy citizens.’”

This shows how much the Korean people now thirst for happiness.

The Local Governments for Happiness Realization Council, established in 2018 under Mayor Kim’s leadership, is an administrative council with 37 local governments nationwide, prioritizing residents’ happiness as the main policy goal and creating happy local communities. Over the past two years, it has steadily worked on developing happiness indicators, conducting happiness policy education and training programs, holding quarterly happiness policy forums, and publishing happiness newsletters to realize related policies.

Chairman Kim plans to lead the council for the next two years, sharing happiness policies among local governments and promoting various joint projects to enhance residents’ happiness through solidarity and cooperation. Mayor Kim Young-jong said, “As COVID-19 prolongs, the role of local governments in realizing happiness is becoming increasingly important. At this time, I will take on this heavy responsibility to establish a close cooperative system among local governments so that happiness can be firmly established as a policy.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Kim, an architect by training, took office as the elected Mayor of Jongno-gu in the 5th local government term. He is recognized as the ‘best-ever Mayor of Jongno-gu’ for restoring Jongno’s identity by building the Hanok Library and Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum, as well as leaving outstanding achievements in urban planning fields such as constructing underground cities.

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