Gangnam-gu Installs 'Information POP' on Tables Including COVID-19 Vaccination Completers

[Seoul District News] 'Run Run Seodaemun' Independence Park Course with Orienteering Program Passing Marked Points... Jungnang-gu's Monthly Themed Walking Challenge Gains Popularity... 'Nowon Ddokddokddok Care Team' Wins Excellence Award for Administrative and Policy Cases

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jung Soon-gyun) has started placing ‘Information POPs’ that identify gatherings including COVID-19 vaccinated individuals at multi-use facilities such as restaurants from the 23rd.

The district planned this project to proactively prevent complaints that may arise when groups of up to four people, including two vaccinated individuals, use restaurants and cafes after 6 p.m., in accordance with the government’s ‘Vaccination Incentive’ policy.

Businesses can install the ‘Information POP’ on tables once the vaccination status of visitors is confirmed via QR code, indicating that the table includes vaccinated persons.

The ‘Information POP’ prepared by the district is currently being distributed to restaurants and cafes. Additionally, an on-site inspection team has been organized to prevent misuse of the ‘Information POP’ and to enforce the policy exempting vaccinated individuals from group size restrictions, with ongoing guidance and enforcement planned.

There is a welcoming atmosphere on-site as well. A restaurant official said, “With the increase in vaccinated customers, it was often difficult to explain to neighboring tables about groups of four visiting after 6 p.m., but with the ‘Information POP,’ we could prove it easily and reduce our burden.”

Children participating in 'Run Run Learn Seodaemun' while running at Ansan (鞍山), Seodaemun-gu

Seodaemun-gu (District Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will run ‘Run Run Learn Seodaemun,’ a program for children whose physical activity has decreased due to social distancing, from September to November at Seodaemun Independence Park.

This is a non-face-to-face orienteering program where participants pass through marked points on a map in order, allowing children to excitedly explore the park like a game to quickly and accurately reach desired locations.

When participants scan QR codes at designated points with their smartphones, their records are saved and can be compared with those of other participants, adding interest.

Children and adolescents aged 5 to 16 living in the area can apply by referring to the district office website’s announcements, with 300 participants able to join for free each month.

Participants receive maps and instructions by mail, which they use to understand the course, how to read the map, and precautions, then experience the program at their preferred time.

Depending on difficulty, participants can choose from White, Yellow, or Orange courses, with distances ranging from 0.5 km to 2.5 km and an approximate duration of 60 minutes.

Applications are limited to once per household per month, allowing participants to challenge themselves with increasing difficulty each month. Children in lower elementary grades or younger must participate with a guardian.

The district signed an agreement with the preliminary social enterprise Green Hour Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Jung-hoon) to promote children’s right to play, running this program at a new course following the Ansan Yeonhui Forest Rest Area from May to July this year.

Children who participated in orienteering in Ansan, exploring forest terrain and elevation contours, said, “It was difficult at first, but as we kept looking at the map and finding our way, it became very fun, and we enjoyed running freely in the forest.”

District Mayor Moon Seok-jin said, “I hope our children, exhausted physically and mentally from the prolonged COVID-19 situation, can run freely, sweat, and have a joyful time through Run Run Learn Seodaemun.”

Jungnang-gu (District Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) is seeing popularity in its monthly walking program, ‘Walking Jungnang Every Month.’

‘Walking Jungnang Every Month’ is an online walking challenge program using the mobile app ‘WalkOn,’ allowing participants to maintain health while following quarantine rules. Since last year, many residents have participated. In 2022, 1,456 residents joined the challenge with 1,341 achieving their goals; this year, up to July, 3,844 participated with 1,794 succeeding.

Each month features a different theme, allowing participants to explore various local spots such as Manguri Park, Yongmasan, Bonghwasan, and Jungnangcheon Rose Road, discovering hidden attractions unknown even to locals. Last year, courses connecting to traditional markets and walking courses for pregnant women received positive responses.

The walking challenge, which took a break in August due to the heatwave, will resume on September 1 with the theme ‘Walking Along Bonghwasan Companion Trail.’ Residents wishing to join can install the WalkOn app, join the Jungnang-gu ‘Walking Jungnang One Lap’ community, and select the challenge mode to participate.

Those who achieve the monthly goal will receive a limited quantity of mobile cultural gift certificates on a first-come, first-served basis. Each month’s challenge completion rewards a prize for that month.

District Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi said, “Through the online walking challenge, I hope residents fill their lacking exercise by walking good paths in our area every month and enjoy small pleasures. We will continue to develop physical activity programs that safely follow quarantine rules and help maintain health.” The district plans to continue the walking challenge monthly until October this year and prepare various walking events next year to improve residents’ walking participation rates.

Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that the ‘Nowon Knock Knock Care Team’ won the ‘Excellence Award’ in the first half of 2021’s Outstanding Administrative and Policy Cases.

This achievement follows the award in 2020 for ‘Establishing the Nowon-type Welfare Resource Delivery System,’ marking two consecutive years of excellence. The ‘Outstanding Administrative and Policy Cases Selection Contest’ is held to select and promote successful administrative or policy cases contributing to national development and citizens’ quality of life, jointly organized by the Korea Public Policy Evaluation Association and the Korea Governance Society.

In the first half of 2021, a total of 78 projects from central ministries, metropolitan governments, local governments, public institutions, and local public enterprises were submitted.

The ‘Nowon Knock Knock Care Team’ met selection criteria such as originality, efficiency, responsiveness, performance, and sustainability through two rounds of evaluation and was selected as an excellent case.

The care team was established to build a ‘dense Nowon-type care system’ without welfare blind spots. First, it identified 6,215 households excluded from existing public and private care service projects, targeting low-income single-person and single-parent households.

About 200 active members were selected according to care demands in 19 neighborhoods. Members were chosen from local residents interested in community conditions and enthusiastic about volunteering to prioritize discovering and resolving welfare blind spots.

Professionalism was enhanced through pre-education on various care services, including visit safety training, visiting nurse health management projects, and Care SOS projects. A dedicated workspace was secured, and appointment certificates, member IDs, vests, and diaries were distributed to foster a sense of belonging.

Since beginning full activities in February this year, the care team has actively identified neighbors in crisis, cultivating pride in taking responsibility for neighbors’ lives rather than mere volunteering.

In April, the care team in Sanggye 3 and 4-dong noticed subtle differences during a welfare check call and immediately visited the site. Suspecting a neurological disorder due to slurred speech and left-leaning gait, they arranged for hospital examination, emergency medical expense support, and linked Care SOS accompaniment services. In July, the care team in Junggye 2 and 3-dong revisited a non-responsive care recipient at home with welfare planners. Judging it an emergency, they reported to 119, enabling Mr. A, who had lost consciousness and collapsed, to survive a critical moment.

The district expects the ‘Nowon Knock Knock Care Team,’ composed of residents who discover and connect those in need to services, to enhance community activation and increase trust in welfare policies by providing resources where and when needed.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I am very pleased that the ‘Nowon Knock Knock Care Team,’ which greatly helps lower the threshold for welfare services, was selected as an excellent case. We will continue efforts to build a proactive welfare system and a dense Nowon-type welfare network.”

Seocho-gu (District Mayor Cho Eun-hee) Public Health Center provides cognitive screening tests combined with advanced equipment (portable EEG devices) to professionally and diversely assess brain health status for early dementia detection and brain health habit formation.

Cognitive screening tests check orientation, memory, attention, language function, and visuospatial function. Alongside, portable EEG tests analyze brainwave patterns to assess functions of different brain areas, and heart rate variability tests measure stress and depression indices. The tests take about 20 minutes for cognitive screening and 30 minutes for portable EEG.

After testing, AI analysis results are used to provide educational materials for brain health promotion and guidance on brain health programs. Particularly, individuals showing signs of brain health deterioration receive dementia prevention programs, psychiatric specialist consultations, and connections to mental health centers for more specialized care.

This brain health test is prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine recipients and conducted by appointment, with simple preparation instructions provided beforehand. Reservations and inquiries can be made at the Seocho-gu Dementia Safety Center.

The district is making various efforts to create a dementia prevention environment. Last year, to minimize service gaps due to COVID-19, non-face-to-face management services were expanded, and dementia safety kits were sent to elderly users of the dementia prevention center to enable home-based dementia prevention activities.

From July to September last year, a dementia prevention service demand survey was conducted for residents aged 60, and based on the results, card news supporting daily dementia prevention activities were produced and sent via text messages. The results were shared with all Seoul districts to be used in various dementia prevention projects.

District Mayor Cho Eun-hee said, “We will do our best to establish a qualitatively improved early dementia screening system by providing differentiated cognitive screening tests. We will strive to create a dementia prevention environment where professional solutions for brain health management allow residents to prepare with peace of mind.”

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Park Sung-soo) announced that the Songpa Saem Career Experience Support Center will be the first nationwide to produce ‘Virtual Reality On-site Career Experience Content’ using the latest Metaport system and 360° VR, and plans to provide it via the Songpa Saem YouTube channel starting in September.

In a situation where career exploration opportunities have shrunk due to COVID-19, the district created an online platform through ‘Songpa Saem’ for local youth to have immersive career experiences and continuously find aptitudes and set career directions.

On-site career experience is a key part of the Ministry of Education’s free semester career education policy, targeting all first-year middle school students nationwide to understand the world of work through various experiences at local workplaces and explore and design their own careers.

Accordingly, from the second semester, the district will provide VR cardboard and content to all first-year middle school students in the area to conduct the virtual career experience ‘Songmyeodeuneun VR Job Date.’

‘Songmyeodeuneun VR Job Date’ is an online content filmed with a 360° camera capturing career experience scenes, providing students with a realistic experience as if directly participating in career experiences via VR. It consists of 20 episodes including Lotte World Folk Museum and Songpa Fire Station.

Also, since April, the ‘Songpa-gu VR On-site Tour’ provided via the Songpa Saem YouTube channel is content produced with the latest Metaport system (video content experienced without VR cardboard), including four excellent experience sites in Songpa such as Songpa Book Museum and Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, featuring characteristics and career information, enabling detailed career exploration without visiting the locations.

The district presents this online on-site career experience program as a new educational alternative in the post-COVID-19 era, overcoming the limitations of face-to-face programs, and plans to continuously develop and expand content to provide it to all students nationwide in the future.

District Mayor Park Sung-soo said, “Through various online programs of ‘Songpa Saem,’ we provide youth with opportunities to prepare for the rapidly changing future society and explore and set career directions suited to themselves. We will discover and expand differentiated career education content unique to Songpa so that youth can dream and design their future under any circumstances.”

Dongjak-gu (District Mayor Lee Chang-woo) is promoting the remodeling of the Sangdo 4-dong Youth Reading Room by reflecting the opinions of youth and residents.

The public Sangdo 4-dong Youth Reading Room (Seongdaero 11-gil 67), built in 1989, has been operating with a total area of 200㎡ and 102 seats (54 male, 48 female).

This project was initiated due to the need to improve the aging facility after 32 years and requests from youth users.

Youth members of the ‘Dongjak-gu Youth Participation Committee’ actively proposed improving the environment of the Sangdo 4-dong Youth Reading Room after the remodeling of the Sadang 3-dong Youth Reading Room into a premium facility received great community response.

To this end, the district secured a budget of 300 million KRW for remodeling this year and plans to start construction next month, aiming for completion in November.

Before construction, until the end of this month, the district will collaborate with local youth-related organizations to collect user opinions on urgently needed improvements or additional facilities, inconveniences during use, and appropriate usage fees through surveys, which will be reflected in the remodeling.

For detailed information about this project, inquiries can be made to the Dongjak-gu Child and Youth Division.

Park Joo-il, Head of the Child and Youth Division, said, “Through the remodeling of the Sangdo 4-dong Youth Reading Room, we will improve aging facilities and reflect user demands to create a space loved by local residents.”

Guro-gu (District Mayor Lee Sung) is holding a ‘Gender Equality Content Contest.’

Guro-gu announced on the 26th, “To raise awareness of gender equality and form a social consensus, we are conducting a ‘Gender Equality Content Contest.’”

The contest’s theme is ‘Gender Equality in Daily Life,’ covering topics such as ▲personal views on gender equality ▲examples of practicing gender equality in family, school, and workplace ▲methods to convert and spread gender-discriminatory elements or gender stereotypes in daily life into gender equality awareness ▲solutions to gender conflicts and disputes ▲lives and achievements of lesser-known female figures in Guro-gu’s history ▲necessity of policy formulation and facility improvements reflecting gender differences ▲and other gender equality-related content.

There are no format restrictions; submissions can be interviews, documentaries, dramas, music videos, vlogs, etc., as long as they are purely creative video content produced between September 1 and October 15.

Any resident in the district can apply individually or in teams of up to four. Those wishing to participate should submit content via email (dbswjd21@guro.go.kr) to the Women’s Policy Division of the district office between October 1 and 15. Details are available on the district office website.

Guro-gu plans to select five outstanding works based on theme relevance, artistry, usability, communication, and creativity. The grand prize winner (individual or team) will receive 1 million KRW, the silver prize winner 500,000 KRW, and three bronze prize winners 300,000 KRW worth of gift certificates.

During ‘Gender Equality Week’ (September 1?7), the district will also hold various non-face-to-face events, including a women’s rights special lecture by Professor Kim Hyung-tae of Seoul Christian University and a talk concert ‘Guro Women Talk Talk’ streamed on YouTube.

For families with infants and toddlers (50 households) in the district, a ‘Handmade Antibacterial Soap Making’ event will be held, where families make soap together at home and submit activity photos to the Guro Childcare Support Center.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Noh Hyun-song) is nurturing outstanding female leaders to lead community development.

The district will operate the ‘22nd Gangseo-Ewha Academy Online Course’ from September 28 to November 30. The Gangseo-Ewha Academy is a top leadership course jointly operated by the district and Ewha Womans University to cultivate creative and open-minded female leaders.

With increasing social participation and contributions of women to regional development, the district prepared this course to satisfy women’s high intellectual needs and improve their leadership qualities and abilities.

Especially, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community, the course will be conducted as live online lectures via YouTube instead of the traditional offline format.

Education will be held every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for 10 weeks, covering leadership, society, economy, culture, health, and other fields.

Main lecture topics include ▲Life and Work: Dreaming of a Golden Life ▲Prospects and Internationalization Policies of Korean Healthcare ▲Investment: Now a Necessity, Not a Choice ▲Virtual Travel from Your Room ▲Our Family’s Strong Gut Health, featuring professors from leading domestic universities and renowned leadership experts.

Participants who complete at least 8 of the 10 lectures will receive a certificate co-signed by the president of Ewha Womans University and the director of the Global Future Lifelong Education Institute.

The district will recruit 50 participants on a first-come, first-served basis starting the 30th. Any woman aged 20 or older residing in Gangseo-gu can participate, with a tuition fee of 30,000 KRW.

Interested women can apply via the Gangseo-gu or Gangseo Lifelong Learning Center website announcements. Since the first class in 2007, 1,459 graduates have been produced through 21 sessions, actively engaging in community activities such as child abuse prevention campaigns, volunteering for vulnerable groups, and supporting single-mother facilities as female leaders.

Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jung-hoon) operates a Regulation Reporting Center to improve unreasonable administrative regulations that hinder small business management or cause inconvenience to residents’ daily lives.

Administrative regulations refer to restrictions on citizens’ rights or imposition of obligations by national or local governments through laws, ordinances, or rules to achieve specific administrative purposes.

The district runs the Regulation Reporting Center to improve outdated or overly burdensome regulations that no longer fit current realities.

It visits local businesses facing difficulties due to administrative regulations or legislative inaction to directly receive on-site complaints, and collects residents’ opinions on inconveniences caused by everyday regulations via the Gangdong-gu website and phone.

District Mayor Lee Jung-hoon said, “We will do our best to collect difficulties from the field and residents’ opinions to achieve regulatory reforms that can be felt in daily life.”

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Lee Dong-jin) announced the appointment of ‘Honorary Social Welfare Officers’ who check on residents’ daily well-being to fill welfare blind spots.

Honorary Social Welfare Officers are unpaid honorary local volunteers who identify at-risk households in their neighborhoods and connect them to the community service center or local social security council. Anyone who is a local resident or works in neighborhood businesses and can easily identify and report at-risk households can participate. ‘Neighborhood businesses’ include real estate agents, academies, hospitals, postal workers, lodging businesses, goshiwon managers, delivery workers, gas meter readers, etc., who frequently meet neighbors due to their business nature.

Upon appointment, officers monitor at-risk households regularly and promptly report discovered neighbors in need to the community service center or local social security council. They receive appointment certificates and 1365 volunteer hours as benefits.

Currently, in Ssangmun 1-dong and Ssangmun 3-dong, workers from various sectors such as convenience stores, cafes, laundries, daycare centers, real estate agents, pharmacies, hair salons, mobile phone stores, and butcher shops participate as honorary social welfare officers. For example, in Ssangmun 3-dong, a pharmacy worker reported an elderly person wandering without proper clothing, who was found to have dementia and was safely handed over to family.

About 767 honorary social welfare officers are active in Dobong-gu, and the district plans to continuously recruit throughout the year to build a dense social safety net. There are no restrictions on gender, age, education, or occupation; anyone interested and capable of practical activity can participate.

District Mayor Lee Dong-jin said, “Due to social factors like COVID-19 social distancing, neighbors in serious crisis situations are emerging, and where administrative reach is limited, active reporting and interest from residents play a crucial role. The ‘Honorary Social Welfare Officer’ program aims to preemptively rescue neighbors through community networks and prevent emergencies. We ask for residents’ interest and participation.”

Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Park Kyum-soo) is recruiting volunteers to participate in ‘Plogging (Ssudam Running),’ an activity to practice environmental protection in daily life.

‘Plogging’ is an eco-friendly activity combining jogging with picking up litter along the way. The term is a blend of the Swedish ‘plocka upp’ (to pick up) and ‘jogging.’

The district planned this project to raise awareness of the climate crisis and promote environmental protection in daily life amid the normalization of abnormal weather due to global warming.

The project runs until December this year, and anyone wishing to volunteer can participate. Considering COVID-19, participants can choose their preferred date, time, and place to perform the activity non-face-to-face, ensuring safe participation.

Applicants can register by selecting Gangbuk-gu in the ‘Volunteer Participation’ menu on the 1365 Volunteer Portal and searching for ‘Plogging.’

Participants receive volunteer hours. They conduct activities in places needing plogging such as walking trails, parks, and rivers, take photos with a time certification app, and submit a report via email. However, youth must confirm with their school beforehand whether volunteer hours will be recognized.

District Mayor Park Kyum-soo said, “I hope residents actively participate in the plogging movement, which allows non-face-to-face volunteering and environmental protection in daily life. As disposable product use increases and environmental issues worsen, I urge everyone to join the movement to reduce household waste.”

Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Chang-hyun) operates ‘Find It! Our Neighborhood Play Rights,’ where children and adolescents directly propose play spaces. This is part of the child-friendly city project to emphasize the importance of children’s participation rights and play rights.

Children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 participate as a play planning group, designing desired play spaces and drafting project proposals through workshops.

The activities run from the 28th of this month to the 18th of next month, every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a total of four sessions, conducted via the online platform Zoom.

Participants receive play kits and activity materials by mail and are awarded 1365 volunteer hours. The district began recruiting participants on the 23rd of last month using Google Forms.

The play planning group was originally planned as an in-person course with a team of 20 exploring and evaluating playgrounds in Yongsan-gu, but due to increased social distancing levels, it will be conducted via Zoom without participant limits.

Through online sessions, various play methods and activity guidelines are taught, and participants individually explore nearby playgrounds, documenting facilities with photos and videos. They share positive and negative experiences and gather improvement suggestions based on the media.

District Mayor Seong Chang-hyun said, “The ‘Yongsan Dodam Dodam Indoor Playground,’ designed with children’s participation from the planning stage, is very popular as the first of its kind among Seoul districts. Expanding opportunities for children to participate in policymaking will be the foundation for child-friendly city development, helping children grow into active talents as future leaders.”

The district joined the Child-Friendly City Promotion Local Government Council in 2019 and has established a UNICEF cooperation agreement, conducted child surveys, and enacted ordinances related to child-friendly city creation.

Main projects include ▲Operating the Child-Friendly City Promotion Committee ▲Operating the Child Rights Ombudsman ▲Training child rights citizen instructors ▲Conducting child rights education ▲Holding youth operation committees ▲Promoting innovative education district projects ▲Operating career experience support centers.

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