Suncheon City Holds 'Ontact Suncheon Hope Talk'... Online Communication with Citizens

In the Contactless Era, Suncheon City's New Communication Method Stands Out

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City (Mayor Heo Seok) is attempting to communicate with citizens online in the COVID-19 era, showcasing a new method of communication for Suncheon City.

The ‘Ontact Suncheon Hope Talk’ held on the 21st was an event planned as a dialogue with citizens who had not been able to meet due to COVID-19. It is significant as the first large-scale online interactive communication attempt to replace the limited face-to-face communication methods with citizens due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

Under the theme “With Corona, Comforting Today and Talking about Tomorrow’s Hope,” the 100-minute Hope Talk was held with a total of 200 participants, including 50 on-site and 150 online via Zoom, representing various groups of citizens such as students, small business owners, and foreigners who had difficulty participating in city administration.

The event was divided into three sessions: ‘Empathy Talk,’ sharing daily life changes due to COVID-19; ‘Keyword Talk,’ discussing major policies and issues of Suncheon City; and ‘Hope Talk,’ sharing hopes for the coming new year. These sessions allowed free communication between Suncheon citizens and Mayor Heo Seok.

All events were broadcast live on YouTube, and citizens who could not participate directly showed enthusiastic engagement by leaving many questions and words of encouragement in the YouTube comments.

Mayor Heo Seok sincerely answered citizens’ questions, continuing honest conversations, resolving citizens’ curiosities about city administration, and proposing ideas for city development.

Additionally, performances were held intermittently during the talks to comfort citizens who are going through a more difficult time than usual due to COVID-19.

Mr. Choi, who participated online via Zoom, said, “Although I thought online communication would be difficult, after trying it, I felt much closer through the conversation with the mayor,” and added, “It seems that opportunities for participation in city administration have expanded through various attempts.”

Mayor Heo Seok of Suncheon said, “Today’s Ontact Suncheon Hope Talk is a historic day in terms of communication methods,” and stated, “Even after COVID-19 ends, we will continue to operate this online communication method to communicate more broadly with citizens who have had difficulty participating in city administration due to time constraints, such as office workers and those active at night.”

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