Gwangjin-gu, The Special Sharing of the Good-Hearted Brothers Makes Headlines

Gwangjin-gu, Significant Effect in Alleviating Parking Shortage through Parking Lot Sharing Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The brothers Kang Juhan (12), Kang Ju-hyuk (10), and Kang Juho (4), who live in Jayang 2-dong, Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap), visited the local community center last October and handed over their piggy banks.

The piggy banks contained New Year's money and allowances they had saved over the past two years by cutting back on snacks they wanted to buy and practicing thrift.

The brothers carefully cut open the piggy banks to check the amount they had saved so far and felt proud.

The amount donated by the brothers was about 500,000 won, which was delivered to the Fruit of Love organization to be used for neighbors in need in Jayang 2-dong.

There are apartment residents who have been collecting and donating money and goods to help neighbors in need for 16 years, drawing attention.

They are residents of Walkerhill Apartment in Gwangjang-dong, who have been gathering their sincerity every winter since 2006 and delivering it to the Gwangjang-dong Community Center.

This year, thanks to the active participation of residents, they donated 11.63 million won and 50kg of rice. The donated money and goods will be used for holiday consolation money for low-income households, marginalized neighbors, and people struggling to make a living due to COVID-19.

Stories of anonymous donation angels who warm the cold winter continue to be shared.

An anonymous donor known as the "Tall Uncle" in Guui-dong quietly supports 20 low-income households with 2 million won each month.

The so-called Tall Uncle said, "My wife has been bedridden for several years, and we are in a difficult financial situation, but I want to help people until the end of my life."

There is also a story of a couple who secretly support eight children born from the heart. The anonymous couple, who have no children, support eight low-income elementary school students with 800,000 won each month. They continue their support anonymously by sending gifts on Christmas and other special occasions or prepaying at nearby restaurants.

Entrepreneur A, who has been running a women's accessories retail business in Gwangjin-gu for three years, donated 1,500 sets of winter items such as mink hats and scarves to local seniors.

Entrepreneur A said, "After seeing a senior picking up scrap paper on a cold day, I thought of my mother in my hometown and gave her my fur hat as a gift. Seeing her happy made me decide to give hats to many seniors."

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause economic stagnation, a cold winter that chills both body and mind is approaching, and everyone is going through a tougher time."

He added, "I am grateful to the donation angels of Gwangjin who step forward for their neighbors even in difficult situations."

He continued, "I hope their warm hearts become a model for the local community and that the frozen donation culture spreads widely."

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) has promoted a parking lot sharing project to activate the sharing of limited parking spaces, securing a total of 174 shared parking spaces in 2021 and providing them to local residents.

The parking lot sharing projects promoted by Gwangjin-gu include ▲ creating parking lots on leftover land ▲ opening private parking lots ▲ demolishing fences for parking lot creation ▲ resident-priority parking sharing projects.

First, the "Leftover Land Parking Lot Creation Project" converts unused vacant lots or leftover land into parking lots and provides them to residents as resident-priority parking lots for one year. The entire cost of creating the parking lot is borne by the district, and the landowner can choose one of two support options: receive the full monthly parking fee of 50,000 won or be exempted from property tax.

The "Private Parking Lot Opening Project" is also underway, which opens surplus parking spaces in private parking lots of nearby public facilities or large buildings and operates them as resident-priority parking lots.

Building owners participating in the opening receive facility improvement support of up to 22 million won for parking lot painting, installation of barriers, and CCTV. They are also paid the full parking revenue of 50,000 won per space per day based on full-day opening. Additionally, buildings paying traffic inducement fees receive up to a 5% discount, providing various incentives to participants.

The "Fence Demolition Parking Lot Creation Project" involves demolishing fences and gates of privately owned houses to create parking lots, with the district acting as the contractor. Participants can receive project costs of 9 million won per parking space, with an additional 1.5 million won for each extra space, up to a maximum of 28 million won.

Also, through an agreement with the parking sharing app company "Everyone's Parking," the "Resident-Priority Parking Sharing Project" allows multiple people to share idle parking spaces. Residents assigned resident-priority parking can share their parking spaces during unused hours via the app, and users can park during idle times, reducing the burden of illegal parking enforcement.

The district has so far secured agreements to open private parking lots at 36 facilities, including Star City Mall, The Classic 500, and the National Center for Mental Health. In 2021, it secured 133 private parking spaces, 4 leftover land spaces, and 37 fence demolition parking spaces, providing a total of 174 additional parking spaces to residents.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "Our district is promoting various projects to secure insufficient parking spaces," and added, "We ask for the interest and participation of many people in the parking lot sharing project, which helps alleviate parking difficulties in the area."

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