[Interview] Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, "Presenting New Solutions for the Recovery of Daily Life Shrunk by COVID-19"

Starting with the direct transaction market, the 'Nowon Job Fair' was held at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park in Junggye-dong on the 4th and 5th, accelerating efforts to revive the local economy... The Danghyeoncheon Moonlight Festival runs until the 15th, presenting festival solutions for the COVID era... Finalizing the creation of regional healing spaces utilizing the area's natural environment

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “Nowon-gu wants to present a new solution to restore daily life, which has been stifled by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, emphasized the role of the autonomous district as the entity closest to residents in the ongoing COVID-19 situation, expressing this intention.

It has been nine months since COVID-19 swept across the nation. The most urgent task is to restore the stagnant daily lives of residents. Reflecting this, on the 17th of last month, Nowon began steps toward daily life recovery by consecutively holding the ‘Village Community Festival’ at Danghyeoncheon and the ‘Gyeongchun Line Forest Path Flea Market.’ At the flea market event, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., 14 types of creative handmade crafts such as knitting, accessories, tumblers, and shopping bags were exhibited and sold. Such an event was unthinkable just a month ago.

On the 24th, starting at 2:30 p.m., the event also participated in the direct transaction market of Goheung-gun at Junggye Neighborhood Park to convey hometown warmth, and on the 29th at 2:30 p.m., visited the Gangwon-do Excellent Agricultural and Livestock Products One-Heart Market held at the same park.

Mayor Oh’s increasing presence in the field and among residents is interpreted as an intention to gradually revive the local economy. In particular, the job fair held on the 4th and 5th at Deungnamu Neighborhood Park in Junggye-dong featured over 40 excellent small and medium-sized enterprises participating, and through one-on-one on-site interviews, 630 people were hired, providing a great opportunity for district residents.

Mayor Oh is also gaining attention for proactively resuming local festivals. A representative example is the ‘Nowon Moonlight Walk,’ held from the 23rd of last month to the 15th of this month around Danghyeoncheon. It is a lantern festival format traditionally held every spring, with the theme of ‘moonlight.’

Mayor Oh explained, “The full moon, which has been a symbol of hope and peace for our people, fits well with the intention of this festival to comfort residents weary from COVID-19.”

Instead, the duration and event sections were extended to encourage ‘distanced viewing’ to prepare against the risk of COVID-19 infection. In fact, about 50 various lanterns are exhibited along a 2 km stretch from Danghyeon 3 Bridge to the Mathematics Culture Center. The exhibition hours are from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. A resident guide program is also operated to assist visitors. Considering COVID-19, each session is limited to 10 people with prior reservations. Various side events and experience booths, which could cause crowding, are not operated, and orderlies are stationed throughout the event area to check mask-wearing and social distancing.

Along with this, Mayor Oh is steadily providing healing opportunities to residents by fully utilizing the district’s natural conditions. This involves creating healing spaces by region that cover Wolgye, Gongneung, Junggye, Hagye, and Sanggye areas. It is currently in the final stages. A circular walking trail was created on Yeongchuksan in Wolgye-dong, and the area around the old Hwarangdae Station on the Gyeongchun Line was transformed into a nighttime light garden, becoming a representative nighttime attraction in Seoul. Behind Nowon Driving School in Junggye-dong, the Butterfly Garden, where butterflies can be seen even in midwinter, opened in September 2018. Adjacent to it, an azalea hill was created and opened to residents this spring, receiving great response. Near Dongmakgol in Sanggye-dong, Seoul’s first urban natural recreation forest on Suraksan will begin construction in January next year.

The same applies to Danghyeoncheon. The Danghyeoncheon environmental improvement project, which began in February, involved refurbishing the aging walking paths and bicycle roads (2 km on the left, 1.4 km on the right) along a total 3.3 km section. The pedestrian paths are marked in green and the bicycle roads in red to ensure safe use by visitors.

Additionally, to improve access to the walking paths, one entrance and two bridges were newly installed. Twenty rest areas were created along the paths for light exercise and relaxation during walks, including a 240 m long mist fountain, two decks under bridges, three shade shelters, sixteen resting benches, and nine outdoor exercise equipment stations distributed throughout the walking paths.

The most eye-catching features are the ground fountain and music fountain. The ground fountain in front of Seongseo University measures 15.5 m wide by 6 m long with 65 nozzles, providing a resting space for residents exhausted by the midsummer heat. It operated from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 30-minute intervals until the end of September.

Nowon Music Broadcasting is also well received by residents. The broadcast is conducted with music and stories requested in real-time by residents to the DJ. On average, about 130 people connect daily to the open chat room to enjoy conversations, serving as an untact (contactless) community space. It operates Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “This can be seen as preparation for the prolonged COVID-19 situation, but for sustainable quarantine, voluntary participation of residents has become more important than the existing forced lockdown policies,” adding, “We will thoroughly implement quarantine measures while achieving our intended goals.”

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