Seocho Developmental Disability Lifelong Education Center Opens

Total floor area 534㎡, 1 basement to 4 above-ground floors with cooking room, counseling room, cafe lounge, and other facilities... Customized programs for adults with developmental disabilities including job experience education and independent living adaptation skills

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Jo Eun-hee) announced on the 30th that it will open the ‘Seocho Lifelong Education Center for People with Developmental Disabilities,’ which plays a role in helping people with developmental disabilities achieve social and economic independence.

Located in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, the ‘Seocho Lifelong Education Center for People with Developmental Disabilities’ has a total floor area of 534㎡, with one basement floor and four above-ground floors, equipped with various facilities for lifelong education for people with developmental disabilities, including classrooms, a cooking room, counseling rooms, a multipurpose room, and a caf? lounge.

The center will provide programs tailored to the individual characteristics of adults with developmental disabilities aged 18 and over, ranging from daily life training and vocational experience education to independent living adaptation skills, supporting them to live daily lives, communicate with the local community, and stand confidently.

In particular, the cultural and artistic education, a specialized course unique to Seocho-gu, offers not only the enjoyment of artistic activities but also various experiential activities linked with local libraries, performance facilities, and festivals to enable participants to engage in social activities as creators.

Additionally, various activities such as ensemble meetings by instrument, drawing, and photography will be supported. Furthermore, specialized education tailored to social issues, such as IT-focused education and environmental guardian activities, will also be conducted.

The enrollment capacity is 30 people, and the study period is five years. Any adult with developmental disabilities residing in Seocho-gu can apply by September 3. The education will begin around mid-September.

The opening ceremony will be held online on the 30th in accordance with social distancing measures and will be uploaded on Seocho-gu Office’s YouTube channel and Seocho-gu Disability YouTube channel ‘Chamsae TV.’ For more details, please contact the Seocho Lifelong Education Center for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Meanwhile, the district supports various policies for the social and economic independence of people with disabilities. In 2017, the district founded the ‘Seocho Hanuri Orchestra,’ which supports people with disabilities to grow as professional musicians; a total of 89 people with disabilities have grown and are active as professional musicians.

As part of the disability employment project, the ‘Neulbom Caf?,’ which opened its first branch in 2016, currently operates 13 locations, where 78 people with disabilities are realizing their dreams of independence as baristas. The ‘Neulbom Store,’ the nation’s first convenience store for disability job training opened in 2019, is currently employing three young people with disabilities as store managers through an agreement with GS Retail and is conducting job training with the goal of linking more than 15 store manager hires annually.

Seocho-gu Mayor Jo Eun-hee said, “We expect the ‘Seocho Lifelong Education Center for People with Developmental Disabilities’ to become a focal point that improves the quality of life for people with disabilities and their caregiving families,” adding, “We will continue to spare no support to help people with developmental disabilities become independent.”

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