Gwanak-gu Operates 'Fine Dust Seasonal Management System'... Jung-gu Opens Nuritteul Joint Childcare Room

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Strengthens Restrictions on Grade 5 Vehicles and Emissions/Idling Enforcement, Cleans Key Roads 4 Times Daily; Special Inspections of Polluting Businesses, Vulnerable Health Facilities, and High-Use Areas; Designates Sillim Intersection Area as 'Fine Dust Intensive Management Zone (1.2㎢)'; Guro-gu Installs Unmanned Traffic Enforcement Devices at 77 High-Accident Child Protection Zones; Jung-gu Operates Free Services for Preschool Children and Parents at Jangchungdan-ro 6-gil 57-6, Tue-Sat 9 AM?6 PM; Dongjak-gu Bus...

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) will operate the ‘Seasonal Fine Dust Management System’ from December 1st until the end of March next year to improve air quality so residents can breathe freely amid the cold wind and fine dust.

The ‘Seasonal Fine Dust Management System’ is a differentiated, proactive special measure that intensively manages fine dust by continuously operating stronger reduction measures than usual from winter, when high concentrations of fine dust frequently occur, to early spring. It complements the limitations of the ‘Emergency Reduction Measures’ taken reactively after fine dust concentrations have already risen.

During the four winter months when high concentrations of fine dust frequently occur, the district will focus on 12 tasks to reduce emissions from the four major sources of fine dust?transportation (traffic), heating, workplaces, and exposure reduction?and minimize residents’ exposure to fine dust.

First, as a transportation measure, the restriction on driving vehicles with emission grade 5 will be expanded from the Green Transportation Zone to the entire Seoul area, limiting operation on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with a fine of 100,000 KRW imposed for violations. Additionally, enforcement of vehicle emission and idling regulations will be strengthened, and special inspections at private vehicle inspection centers will be conducted.

Management and inspection of workplaces emitting air pollutants will also be intensified. During the implementation period, a TF team will be formed to conduct a full inspection of 83 workplaces and construction sites in the area.

To minimize citizens’ exposure to fine dust on roads, during the seasonal period, road cleaning will be conducted more than four times a day on the fine dust intensive management road in the area (Nambusunhwan-ro 1588 to Sadang Station Exit 6, 5 km), and the daily cleaning route for cleaning vehicles will be expanded from 50 km to 60 km.

In particular, the district has designated the Sinlim Intersection area (1.2 km²), where the annual average fine dust concentration is high and vulnerable facilities are concentrated, as a focused management zone. Enhanced fine dust reduction measures will be promoted, including water spraying and dust suction vehicle operation, emission source management, support for direct-fire grilling restaurant prevention facilities, installation of fine dust suction mats, reduction devices, adsorption filters, and the formation and operation of public-private consultative bodies.

Additionally, the district will focus on managing appropriate heating temperatures in three large energy-consuming buildings during winter and conduct special inspections on the proper operation of indoor air ventilation facilities in 24 facilities for vulnerable groups and multi-use facilities. To enhance the effect of the seasonal management system, promotion for expanding eco-friendly boiler distribution in 2022 will also be strengthened.

A district official said, “Reducing fine dust is a social task that can no longer be delayed, and we will concentrate all administrative power on strong and continuous efforts.” He added, “We ask residents for active interest and participation even if there is some inconvenience due to the implementation of the Seasonal Fine Dust Management System.”

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) has installed unmanned traffic enforcement equipment that detects speeding and signal violations at 77 child protection zones in the district to strengthen children's traffic safety.

The unmanned traffic enforcement equipment not only detects vehicles violating speed limits and imposes fines but also encourages safe driving by alerting drivers to the presence of enforcement devices.

Following the amendment of the Road Traffic Act in December 2019 (known as the Min-sik Act), Guro-gu has been prioritizing the installation of unmanned traffic enforcement equipment in child protection zones since last year.

After installing equipment at 36 locations last year, Guro-gu invested about 1.3 billion KRW this year to add 41 more locations. As a result, at least one unmanned traffic enforcement device has been installed in the protection zones around 26 elementary schools in the area.

Along with this, Guro-gu surveyed 63 locations including child protection zones (elementary schools, kindergartens, childcare facilities, special schools) and elderly protection zones, replacing safety signs and repainting road markings to maintain and establish aging traffic safety facilities.

A Guro-gu official said, “We will continue to promote the ‘Child Protection Zone Improvement Project’ so that children can walk safely within child protection zones.” He added, “We repeatedly urge residents to obey speed limits and traffic signals in child protection zones.”

In October, Guro-gu installed ‘Guro-type Smart Poles’ equipped with pedestrian safety and crime prevention functions at four child protection zones including Mirae Elementary School. Through expanding various traffic safety facilities such as yellow traffic lights, yellow carpets, floor-type pedestrian signals, crosswalk spotlights, and intersection alert devices, the district is making every effort to prevent child traffic accidents.

Role-playing spaces (market play, kitchen play, makeup play)

Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced that it opened the ‘Nuri-deul Joint Childcare Room’ for infants and toddlers in Jangchung-dong on the 29th.

The joint childcare room is a play space for children under five years old who are not yet in school and a communication space where parents raising children of similar ages can share information.

Located in an urban area, Jung-gu has had continuous requests from residents for space creation due to a lack of places where children can freely run and play.

After being selected in June for the Seoul City joint childcare room new installation contest, the district conducted remodeling work reflecting opinions gathered through benchmarking similar facilities and holding four resident meetings and briefings. The name ‘Nuri-deul,’ selected through a naming contest, means ‘a neighborhood yard-like space shared by children and parents.’

The joint childcare room is designed considering children's development and growth, consisting of ▲physical play ▲role play ▲book play spaces.

The physical play area includes a trampoline, which was the most popular play equipment among children during benchmarking. The role play area is equipped with market play, kitchen play, and makeup play facilities, providing various play options suited to children's developmental stages. The book play area features a bookshelf shaped like the curve of Namsan, a landmark of Jung-gu. Inside the bookshelf, a cushioned space allows children to enter and read books comfortably, symbolizing Jung-gu children growing their dreams in the embrace of Namsan.

Childcare professionals reside in the joint childcare room to guide children on how to play and provide parenting consultation for parents. Various parenting meetings and programs are also organized to share parenting experiences and information and facilitate communication.

The operating hours are from Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and use is available by making a reservation in advance on the Jung-gu Childcare Comprehensive Support Center website.

Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, “Jung-gu, being an urban area, lacks places where infants and toddlers can freely play. Following the opening of the Hati Boong Boong indoor playground in Sindang-dong in February, we have now opened the Nuri-deul Joint Childcare Room in Jangchung-dong.” He added, “We will continue to create safe and enjoyable play facilities for infants and toddlers to make Jung-gu a great place to raise children.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) is expanding and fully operating heated seats at bus stops to reduce the cold during winter.

The district began operating 20 heated seats in 2019 and this year added seven more at bus stops frequently used by many residents and vulnerable groups such as the elderly, including ▲Soongsil University Entrance Station ▲Sadang Market ▲Chongshin University ▲Sadang Middle School, operating a total of 27 locations.

Instead of enclosed warm tents made of vinyl or glass to prevent COVID-19 spread, heated seats using carbon nano materials with high thermal conductivity and minimal power consumption have been activated, receiving great responses from residents waiting for buses in winter.

The heated seats will operate until March next year, running from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., automatically activating when the ambient temperature drops below 18 degrees Celsius.

The district inscribed the phrase ‘Bringing warmth to your daily life’ on the heated seats to comfort residents struggling with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and has subscribed to insurance for safety accidents and conducts regular inspections and maintenance of the heated seats.

Choi Dal-soo, Safety and Disaster Officer, said, “We will continue efforts to increase public transportation usage and reduce citizen inconvenience by expanding convenience facilities at bus stops and improving the environment to prepare for winter cold.”

The district has prepared a comprehensive winter plan divided into five areas: ▲health and environment ▲snow removal ▲cold wave ▲safety ▲livelihood, focusing on expanding meticulous quarantine systems to prevent the resurgence of infectious diseases in winter and implementing resident-centered measures to protect safety and health.

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced the completion of the ‘Open Green Space Project’ to create an open green area on the wall space of Yuwon Mokdong Apartment.

The apartment open green space project involves demolishing old walls surrounding the apartment and expanding green spaces to create resident convenience and pedestrian facilities. It transforms previously blocked, isolated spaces into communication areas planted with trees, bringing openness and vitality to the neighborhood. Since April, the district has been promoting the project through design and consultations with Yuwon Mokdong Apartment residents.

The project cost a total of 140 million KRW, subsidized by the city, removing part of the 130-meter brick wall surrounding the apartment to lower its height and planting green trees in the space.

The planted trees include ▲18 large trees such as Cornus officinalis ▲1,962 shrubs including Euonymus alatus and Emerald Green ▲3,996 herbaceous plants such as silver grass, adding diversity to the composition. Comfortable benches and other convenience facilities were also installed for resident community use.

Seo Jeong-deok, manager of Yuwon Mokdong Apartment, said, “Residents who initially resisted the wall demolition are very satisfied seeing the bright and green transformation after the open green space was created.” He added, “We will continue to manage the pleasant current state well.”

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “The area once blocked by old walls has been reborn as a communication space full of vibrant trees through the Open Green Space Project.” He added, “We will continue to expand green spaces in daily life to meet residents’ needs through various projects.”

Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) was selected as an ‘Excellent Autonomous District’ in the ‘2021 Urban Agriculture Excellent Autonomous District Evaluation’ hosted by Seoul City.

The evaluation of excellent urban agriculture autonomous districts was based on the performance of 25 autonomous districts in Seoul from January to October this year, assessing ▲urban garden creation and management ▲participation rate in Seoul Farmer Porter ▲urban agriculture budget securing and execution ▲urban agriculture event hosting ▲other urban agriculture projects (support center operation, safety inspections, etc.).

Dobong-gu has expanded the eco-friendly sharing garden in Choan Mountain Neighborhood Park, renovated aging facilities, and created urban agriculture spaces combining park and garden functions. It also newly established nine urban gardens totaling 543㎡ on rooftops, schools, daycare centers, and healing gardens, and distributed 1,674 box garden sets to residents, providing stable urban agriculture activity spaces suited to the urban environment.

To spread public consensus on the ecological value of eco-friendly garden activities and promote environmentally friendly farming methods, the district has made great efforts to provide various eco-friendly garden management techniques, including sustainable farming (permaculture) education, agricultural theme experience education, regular urban garden education, and distribution of eco-friendly microbial culture solutions.

Notably, Dobong-gu received favorable evaluation for sharing agricultural products harvested from smart farm plant cultivators installed on the first floor of the district office and Ssangmun-dong Urban Agriculture Park with vulnerable groups in the community, helping overcome the fatigue caused by COVID-19 through urban agriculture activities.

Lee Dong-jin, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “By expanding urban agriculture spaces that can be practiced in daily life, we will work to restore ecosystems and improve the urban environment through urban agriculture.” He added, “We will strive to lead Seoul’s urban agriculture by practicing various urban agriculture values.”

Seocho-gu has published a guidebook titled ‘Everyday Seocho Travel’ featuring 12 walking courses in the city center. This guidebook, which combines the district’s cultural and artistic resources with natural environments, introduces 12 courses ideal for trekking with family, lovers, or friends, paths suitable for solitary reflection, and unique attractions not usually considered travel destinations.

‘Everyday Seocho Travel’ guidebook departs from the previous format of dividing Seocho by zones and instead categorizes the courses into four themes: ▲specialty streets ▲walking paths ▲forest trails ▲shopping streets, reflecting the latest information.

The specialty street courses include the music culture district ‘Seoripul Instrument Street’ with classical melodies, the small French village ‘Seorae Village’ with exotic atmosphere, and the charming alley commercial areas ‘Bangbae Cafe Alley’ and ‘Bangbae Saigil.’

The walking path courses introduce ‘Yangjaecheon,’ where seasonal scenery stops footsteps, ‘Banpo Stream’ with poetry and songs along the trail, and ‘Hangang Park,’ known for night views including Sebitseom.

The forest trail courses guide visitors through urban forest paths such as Gilmajung-gil, Seoripul Park forest trail, Umyeonsan forest trail, and Cheonggyesan Wonteo-gol forest trail. Lastly, the shopping courses provide information on the Gangnam Station area and the Express Bus Terminal area.

This guidebook is a renewal of the 2017 November tourism guidebook ‘Let’s Play in Seocho,’ aiming to offer residents, whose travel options have narrowed due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, travel courses that can be enjoyed like local strolls, and to provide tourists visiting Seocho with comprehensive travel routes to fully enjoy the district.

The 120-page, palm-sized handbook is designed for easy one-handed carrying during travel and includes English translations so foreigners can also use it.

The guidebook will be available at community centers, cultural facilities, tourist attractions, and downloadable from the Seocho-gu website for free use by anyone.

Kwon Mi-jung, Director of Culture and Tourism, said, “We will continue to develop attractive courses that allow people to enjoy everyday life as travel, making Seocho’s unique tourism resources flourish.”

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jung Soon-kyun), supported by the district and hosted by the Gangnam-gu Sports Council (Chairman Jo Jung-eun), will hold the ‘2021 Ontact Solo Challenge! Sports Competition’ from December 9 to 13.

This non-face-to-face sports competition is held in an ontact (online contact) format to replace the International Peace Marathon canceled due to COVID-19. Participants can join the sports events at their preferred time and place and post certification photos or videos on the official website.

The competition consists of 10 events including pull-ups, sit-ups, jegichagi (Korean shuttlecock kicking), jump rope, and plogging. Participants complete challenge missions for each event. Among those who complete certification, various prizes such as department store gift certificates will be awarded by lottery.

Applications are accepted from December 1 to 8 on a first-come, first-served basis for up to 1,000 participants via the official website. Participation is free.

Kim Ha-sung, Director of Culture and Sports, said, “Gangnam-gu has been reaching out to residents through cultural and sports events even in the non-face-to-face era, such as hosting the nation’s first ‘Ontact Marathon’ last year.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Kyum-soo) will operate a free one-on-one career and college admission counseling service in preparation for the regular college admissions.

The service targets 60 teams of high school students and parents in the district. Counseling will be held for three days from December 11 in the district office’s planning situation room. Sessions start at 6:20 p.m. and are divided into six 40-minute slots daily.

Experienced and professional counselors will provide career and college admission guidance. They will offer customized information considering students’ aptitudes and talents to help them find their career paths independently and provide individual strategies tailored to college admission processes.

Applicants can make reservations on a first-come, first-served basis online (via Naver Form) or by phone. Counseling application forms can be downloaded from the district office website (news section) and sent by email. Once confirmed, a counseling date will be assigned.

The application form requires applicants to write their career plans and questions. Students should bring copies of their school records and CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) scores to the counseling. Participation of both students and parents is encouraged for more effective counseling.

Park Kyum-soo, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “This counseling is a great opportunity to explore careers and obtain necessary college admission information.” He added, “We hope for active interest and participation in the career and college admission counseling.”

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