Nowon-gu, the Secret Behind Ranking 2nd in Resident Trust Among Seoul Districts?

Enhancing Resident Trust through Swift and Transparent Administration Ranks 2nd Among Basic Local Governments... Higher Trust than Central and Metropolitan Governments... Impact of Early COVID-19 Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) has been found to be highly trusted by local residents among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul.

According to the results of the ‘2020 Seoul Survey Urban Policy Indicator Survey’ announced by Seoul City last April, Nowon-gu ranked 2nd in resident trust among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul.

The evaluation score was 5.36 out of 10 points, just 0.01 points behind the 1st place, and 0.32 points higher than the average score of 5.04 for the 25 districts.

What is particularly noteworthy is that it received greater trust than the central government (4.95 points) and metropolitan local governments (5.18 points).

This is interpreted as receiving high scores due to early COVID-19 response measures such as distributing masks to all residents, the cloth mask volunteer corps activities, prompt guidance on confirmed patients’ movement routes, and differentiated management of overseas entrants.

Strengthening communication through SMS text message services has also played a major role in increasing trust. The district uses SMS text messages targeting 250,000 registered residents to provide information on major policy matters such as snow removal and disaster response, COVID-19 status, and disaster relief funds. Since March last year, it has actively collected residents’ opinions through two-way text messaging.

Meanwhile, Nowon-gu’s happiness index scored an average of 6.69 points, ranking 5th among the 25 districts. The survey covered five categories: health status (7.02), personal financial status (6.15), friendships (6.8), family life (6.84), and social life (6.63). The lowest score in the financial status category is analyzed to be influenced by unemployment and business closures due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The district is striving to provide thicker and more detailed support by establishing a segmented support system for small business owners, vulnerable groups, and affected industries through the Nowon-gu-Seoul City customized disaster relief fund, separate from the government disaster relief fund, to help household economies.

Another notable point is the sharp rise in satisfaction with cultural environment from 16th place last year to 8th place.

This is interpreted as being due to major factors such as the modern and contemporary masterpiece exhibition at the Buk Seoul Museum of Art, which was visited by about 150,000 people; the operation of a drive-in theater allowing safe movie enjoyment inside cars to temporarily ease COVID-19 concerns; the opening of the first children’s theater in the northeastern area; and the ‘2020 Nowon Moonlight Walk,’ which transformed a 2 km section of Danghyeoncheon into an outdoor exhibition space with about 200 art lanterns and sculptures over 24 days.

Additionally, various opportunities such as the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail ‘street art performances’ and ‘visiting busking performances’ provided residents, who usually find it difficult to attend performances due to busy daily lives, with chances to enjoy performances in their everyday environment, which seems to have drawn great response from residents.

This survey is the result of the Urban Policy Indicator Survey conducted annually by Seoul City since 2003 to compile statistical data that can identify the characteristics of Seoul, targeting 40,085 Seoul citizens from September 14 to October 30 last year.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I feel that communication and solidarity with residents are the greatest strengths during COVID-19,” and added, “We will continue to strive for transparent and fair administration and administration that allows residents to feel happiness.”

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