Wangsimni Square's 'Slow Mailbox' Warmly Sends Postcards to the Sky

Seongdong-gu 'Neurin Uchteong' Slow Mailbox Becomes a Sensation with Wife's Handwritten Letter to Husband in the Sky

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] I wonder if there is no pain in the sky... It has already been 9 months since you left my side.

I will do my best to raise the children well and then go. Please stay healthy. I love you.

At one corner of Wangsimni Square in Seongdong-gu, a postcard arriving at the bright yellow ‘Neurin Uchteong’ (Slow Mailbox) is giving a quiet impression.

The postcard, which has neither the sender’s nor the recipient’s address, begins with “To my husband in the sky,” asking about the husband who passed away 9 months ago and pledging to live the rest of life fully.

Haengdang 1-dong in Seongdong-gu installed the ‘Neurin Uchteong’ at Wangsimni Square at the end of last August. It is an emotional mail service where you write a postcard filled with your heart to your beloved family, friends, or yourself and put it in the mailbox, and it is delivered one year later.

The mailbox, installed in 2016 as a special project by the Haengdang 1-dong Residents’ Autonomous Committee, has been refurbished and relocated to a new home on the north side of the Wangsimni Square resting area. Reflecting residents’ opinions that the existing mailbox was old and not noticeable due to its location, its size was increased and it was painted bright yellow inspired by the ginkgo tree, a symbol of Haengdang 1-dong.

Also, nostalgic postcards featuring panoramic photos of Seongsu Forest, Salgoti Bridge, and Eungbongsan, representative attractions of Seongdong-gu, were prepared so that anyone using Wangsimni Square can freely give memories as gifts.

An official from the district said, “The Haengdang 1-dong Residents’ Autonomous Committee opens the mailbox twice a week to collect postcards for delivery,” adding, “Among the postcards, there are touching stories like this one, so it is playing a significant role as a ‘healing window’ comforting and encouraging each other in these emotionally difficult times.”

In the three months since the refurbishment, a total of 105 postcards have been collected, waiting for the day they will be delivered to family or friends one year later.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “These days, when the weather is getting colder and the difficult situation seems endless, reading the postcards made my heart warm,” and added, “The power to heal and overcome difficult feelings comes not from something great but from small touches. I hope that through the ‘Neurin Uchteong,’ we can share the emotion conveyed by handwritten letters and the leisure that comes with slowness amid the harsh reality.”

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