Seoul Gwanak Bongcheon Regional Self-Sufficiency Center Self-Sufficiency Work Group 'Bongja Hankki' Newly Opened

Delivery Food Specialty Store Operated with Resident Participation Opens... Supporting Economic Independence of Low-Income Residents and Creating Social Jobs

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) is continuously promoting self-sufficiency projects to enhance the independence of low-income residents in the area and enable them to live together within the local community.

The Seoul Gwanak Bongcheon Regional Self-Sufficiency Center is a specialized social welfare institution supporting the self-sufficiency of low-income local residents. It plays a role in providing counseling services through the operation of self-sufficiency work projects, linking local resources, various education and training, and information provision.

Currently, it operates four self-sufficiency enterprises and 13 project groups. On the 19th of last month, with support from the district and cooperation from Ujumanmulsang (CEO Kim Junghoon), a new self-sufficiency work project group called ‘Bongjahankki’ was opened.

Bongjahankki is a delivery food specialty store selling kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup), donkatsu (pork cutlet), and other dishes. It is a temporary self-sufficiency project group operated by participation from low-income residents of our district. The goal is to establish a stable operation and profit structure, transition into an official project group of the regional self-sufficiency center, and create social jobs.

A resident participating in the project group said, “Before opening the restaurant, I was very worried about whether it would do well or if I could manage it, but after opening, orders came in nonstop, and seeing daily increasing sales gave me strength and confidence that I could stand up again.”

The center, considering Gwanak-gu’s characteristics with a high single-person household rate of 58.1% and the business potential of delivery food services in preparation for the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, judged the possibility of linking job creation and self-reliance for low-income residents.

Center Director Kim Bongjun said, “We believed that our residents could cook and sell delicious food if they received professional training and practice, so we carefully prepared this project group,” and added, “We thank Gwanak-gu for supporting the start of the business, and above all, we are grateful to the residents who trusted the center and started together.”

Mayor Park Junhee stated, “We are making various efforts to support the independence of vulnerable groups in the region by creating stable jobs and providing diverse educational opportunities,” and said, “We will continue to do our best to constantly discover fields where self-sufficiency project groups can be linked for the re-advancement of low-income residents.”

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