Jongno-gu Provides Eco-friendly Agricultural Products Worth 480,000 KRW to All Pregnant Women

If selected, you can receive eco-friendly agricultural product packages worth 480,000 KRW over the next year... Orders up to 100,000 KRW per session allowed

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) will start providing eco-friendly agricultural product packages to all pregnant women in the area from this month to create a safe and healthy childbirth-friendly environment.

This is based on universal support for all pregnant women to create a community good for raising children and to help farmers facing difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

This project was initiated by Jongno-gu with additional budget after the existing support for agricultural product packages for pregnant women, which was conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, received enthusiastic responses and was fully subscribed early.

As a result, all pregnant women in Jongno whose pregnancy or childbirth has been confirmed since January 1, 2020, will receive eco-friendly agricultural product packages worth 480,000 KRW over the next year.

If they wish to use the service, pregnant women can apply online directly through the eco-friendly agricultural product shopping mall or visit the Childcare Support Division at the district office or their local community service center with a resident registration certificate and supporting documents.

Orders can be placed up to 100,000 KRW per session, and the website also provides various useful content such as recipes for food for babies and mothers and information on eco-friendly farming.

For more details and inquiries, please contact the Childcare Support Division.

Meanwhile, according to the provisional results of the '2020 Population Trends Survey Birth and Death Statistics' announced by Statistics Korea in February this year, the number of births in South Korea last year was approximately 272,400, with a total fertility rate of 0.84.

Among these, Jongno-gu recorded about 500 births and a total fertility rate of 0.52.

Considering that the number of newborns in the area has decreased to about 40 per month, unlike the 2000s when over 1,000 newborns were born annually, the district government plans to shift its policy direction to personally care for infants and pregnant women to increase the policy's perceived effectiveness.

As part of this, Jongno-gu has been promoting the ‘Baby Birth Celebration Project’ since this year and is conducting ‘Tree Planting Events’ and ‘Our Baby Photo Posting Projects’ for babies under one year old.

In April, over two sessions, Jongmyo Square Park was provided as a tree-planting park for infants under one year and their families, holding meaningful events to plant commemorative trees, and baby photos are featured in the district newsletter.

Additionally, the ‘Nutrition Plus Project’ is operated to manage the dietary habits of pregnant women and infants. This aims to carefully manage residents' health from the fetal stage and guarantee the right to health throughout their lives.

Selected participants receive monthly nutrition education and food packages containing items such as seaweed, chicken breast, gim (laver), and milk that help improve health.

The ‘Seoul Baby Health First Step Project,’ which builds bonds between professional nurses and pregnant women to enhance parenting capabilities, is also noteworthy. From before birth to after, it offers consultations via phone and video, home visits, and efforts to prevent family breakdown and child abuse through social worker connections and encouraging participation in mothers’ self-help groups.

District Mayor Kim Young-jong said, “We provide eco-friendly agricultural products to carefully care for the health of future generations and help farmers open new markets. Previously, support was given on a first-come, first-served basis, but as it was fully subscribed within two months, we allocated additional budget so that all unselected pregnant women can benefit. We will strive to promote healthy and balanced diets for pregnant women and infants by providing safe and healthy eco-friendly agricultural product packages.”

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