Yongsan-gu to Create a City Good for Women and Children... Designated as a 'Women-Friendly City' and Certified as a 'Child-Friendly City'

Yongsan-gu Newly Designated as a 'Women-Friendly City' by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Also Certified as a 'Child-Friendly City' by the UNICEF Korea Committee

Yongsan District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun with children at the crop harvesting event

Seongjanghyeon, Mayor of Yongsan District, attending the Gender Equality Week event

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) is embarking on creating a city where women and children can live without inconvenience.

Yongsan-gu has been newly designated as a "Women-Friendly City" by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. It also received certification as a "Child-Friendly City" from the UNICEF Korea Committee.

First, a Women-Friendly City is designated by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for local governments that implement policies to create a gender-equal community that residents can feel. This year, eight regions were newly designated.

The district launched the new designation under the slogan "Yongsan, a Women-Friendly City Where Everyone’s Happiness is Realized." In particular, projects such as discovering hidden female figures in Yongsan and promoting women’s health were evaluated as excellent initiatives.

The project to discover hidden female figures in Yongsan involves exploring lesser-known women (and places) in Yongsan and visiting related locations, with active participation from the resident participation group.

The resident participation group, Yongsan Nuri (44 members), identifies daily inconveniences from a women-friendly perspective. The Women-Friendly City Creation Council (30 members) is responsible for the direction and strategy of creating a women-friendly city.

The women’s health promotion project trains instructors who change perceptions about menstruation to enhance understanding of women’s health.

A district official said, "We placed particular emphasis on building governance for creating a women-friendly city," adding, "We actively collect diverse voices by age from the resident participation group, which includes members from their 20s to 70s."

The district will implement 14 projects across five areas for five years from the designation date: ▲building a foundation for gender equality policies ▲expanding women’s economic and social participation ▲enhancing community safety ▲creating a family-friendly environment, among others.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "As always, the answer lies in the field," and added, "We will continue to communicate actively with residents and do our best to expand the base of women-friendly cities."

To create a women-friendly city, the district established a foundation by enacting and revising six ordinances related to women-friendliness, including the Yongsan-gu Gender Equality Basic Ordinance in March 2020, and by formulating a mid- to long-term plan for women-friendly city creation in September 2021.

Alongside this, Yongsan-gu received certification as a "Child-Friendly City" from the UNICEF Korea Committee. The certification period is four years, until December 13, 2025.

The UNICEF Child-Friendly City designation is given to regions that establish a foundation to fully realize children’s rights as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

To qualify, ten components must be achieved, including child-friendly legislation and systems, promotion and education of children’s rights, establishment of child-friendly city strategies, and child impact assessments.

Yongsan-gu enacted ordinances related to child-friendly city creation and launched a steering committee in 2019. In 2020, it established a dedicated department and became the first district in Seoul to enact a child participation ordinance, the "Yongsan-gu Ordinance on Guaranteeing Children’s Right to Play." In December 2020, it applied for certification from the UNICEF Korea Committee and received certification on December 14 of this year.

The district plans to continuously promote 21 detailed projects under five goals to expand the child-friendly base in the region until the certification period ends in 2024.

The five major goals are ▲children respected as citizens ▲children freely expressing opinions ▲children enjoying social services ▲children living safely ▲children playing to their heart’s content.

The 21 detailed projects are carried out by a total of eight departments, including the dedicated Child-Friendly City department: ▲Senior and Youth Division (11 projects including training child rights resident instructors) ▲Smart Information Division (child website construction) ▲Women and Family Division (operation of shared childcare spaces) ▲Talent Development Division (career and job experience projects, 3 in total) ▲Traffic Administration Division (mobile traffic safety education, 2 projects) ▲Resource Circulation Division (environmental contests) ▲Health Administration Division (smoke-free environment projects) ▲Parks and Greenery Division (maintenance of children’s small parks).

In 2025, Yongsan-gu will challenge the higher-level certification of Child-Friendly City. UNICEF evaluates changes and implementation performance over four years after initial certification and grants "higher-level" certification to cities that have created a more advanced child-friendly environment.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "We are pleased to be certified as Yongsan, a city where children’s laughter never stops. This seems to be the result of efforts made so far to create a child-friendly city," adding, "Children are not beings subordinate to adults but independent individuals who deserve respect. We will not stop striving to ensure the happiness of future children in Yongsan."

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