Opening of Jung-gu Hwanghak-dong Resident Community Space 'Hwanghak, Nalda'

Our Neighborhood Management Office, Book Cafe, Shared Kitchen, and Community Garden Established on the First Floor of the Community Center... ?Hwanghak, Nalda?'s First Exhibition, Residents Directly Capture Diverse Lives of the Neighborhood in ?Hwanghak Archive?

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced that on the 31st, it held the opening ceremony of the resident community space "Hwanghak, Nalda," which will provide customized services for Hwanghak-dong residents to enjoy various cultural activities and connect with their neighbors.

The resident community space "Hwanghak, Nalda" is located on the first floor of the Hwanghak-dong Community Center, which is easily accessible, and consists of a neighborhood management office, a small library and book caf?, a shared kitchen, and a community garden.

Hwanghak-dong is an old downtown area concentrated with commercial facilities, so there was a lack of spaces for residents. Recently, with the increase in officetel constructions and single-person households, about 30% of the total residents in Hwanghak-dong are now single-person households.

Accordingly, "Hwanghak, Nalda" is planned to operate as a new hub that meets the need for new administrative services for local residents and facilitates communication between merchants and residents, as well as between apartment and house residents, enabling active participation of residents in the local community.

The "Neighborhood Management Office" is a space opened to take responsibility for chronic alleyway cleaning and living safety issues in aging residential areas, similar to apartment management offices. All staff are local residents, and the office is characterized by being directly operated by residents.

The "Book Caf?" will operate customized reading, education, and cultural programs tailored to the interests of various age groups, becoming an educational space where residents can communicate and heal together beyond just a place to read books.

The "Shared Kitchen," an open cooking space for residents, will run cooking programs such as single-person household cooking classes and children's baking classes, as well as programs practicing "sharing together," including side dish sharing volunteer activities and meal delivery for vulnerable groups.

Additionally, outdoors, part of the parking lot has been transformed into a "Community Garden" connected to the community space, where residents can enjoy nature, relax, and hold small-scale events, serving as a resting and communication yard.

With the opening of "Hwanghak, Nalda," the "Hwanghak Archive" was also unveiled for the first time in this space, adding special significance. The Hwanghak Archive is a project aimed at recording and enjoying the diverse lives and daily scenes shaped by time before the neighborhood we live in disappears under the name of development.

Residents who have lived in Hwanghak-dong have taken photo and video production classes since last year and created results that were compiled into 100 hardcover photo books. A meaningful first exhibition is being held in the resident space "Hwanghak, Nalda."

The opening ceremony was held in compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines, attended by Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, city and district council members, heads of Hwanghak-dong professional organizations, Neighborhood Management Office staff, and local residents.

Mayor Seo Yang-ho of Jung-gu said, “The resident community space 'Hwanghak, Nalda,' opened in Hwanghak-dong, where public convenience facilities were very lacking, is expected to play a role like a refreshing rain in Hwanghak-dong,” and added, “We will strive so that all residents can communicate as members of the local community and enjoy a healthy daily life with their neighbors.”

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