Yongsan-gu Launches Full-Scale Effort to Revitalize Itaewon Commercial Area... 2nd Phase Itaewon Star Shop (star #shop) Promotion

[Seoul District News] Selection of 10 Prospective Entrepreneurs in Itaewon Tourism Zone... Rent Support of 12 Million KRW, Small Business Loan Support of 50 Million KRW... Opening of GS25 Naeil Store Branch 2 in Jangji-dong, Songpa-gu... Responsible for Jobs for Low-Income Groups... Nowon-gu Provides Employment Insurance Premium Support for Solo Self-Employed, Low-Income Workers, Artists, and Special Employment Workers Starting This Year... Guro-gu Receives Minister of Health and Welfare Commendation for Basic Livelihood Security Evaluation... Gwanak-gu Awarded Minister of the Interior and Safety Commendation for Excellence in the 2021 Hope Work Support Project... Gangbuk-gu ‘Samyang-dong Community Center’

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District (left), is having a conversation with young merchants at Star Shop No.1 on November 1 last year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Chang-hyun) is promoting the 2nd phase of the ‘Itaewon Starshop (star ＃shop) Project’ to revitalize the Itaewon commercial district.

Last year, the district selected 10 preliminary entrepreneurs for the 1st phase of the Itaewon Starshop. The first store (Hongdaene Cut Itaewon Branch) opened at the end of October, and the second store (Japanese restaurant Marine C) opened in early December. The remaining stores will start operations early this year.

The ‘Itaewon Starshop’ project supports preliminary entrepreneurs within the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone by providing ▲up to 1 million KRW monthly rent for 12 months ▲small business loans up to 50 million KRW.

The recruitment is for 10 people. Eligibility requires that applicants are not registered as business owners as of the announcement date. The application period is from January 24 to 28. Successful candidates will be individually notified on March 25.

Rent will be paid monthly by the 10th of each month starting the month after business commencement directly to the entrepreneur’s account. Small business loan applications are possible after completing mandatory training operated by the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, depending on the entrepreneur’s credit rating.

The mandatory training operated by the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation includes ‘Startup Consulting’ and ‘Small Business Education.’ Successful candidates must complete their startup within the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone within 150 days from the final selection date.

Applicants currently operating a business as of the announcement date, those running businesses restricted from re-guarantee (such as precious metal brokerage, fur product wholesale, general or adult entertainment bars, real estate businesses, etc.), those planning to start such businesses, or those participating in other preliminary entrepreneur support projects are excluded from eligibility.

Required documents include the Itaewon Starshop Project application form, business plan, consent form for collection/use/provision of personal information, certificate of facts, career certificate, and a copy of ID. Applications must be submitted in person to the Yongsan-gu Office Job Economy Division (5th floor).

The district will select 15 candidates in the first document screening and conduct a second interview screening. Preliminary successful candidates will be designated according to the final evaluation results, and if vacancies occur within one month, replacements will be made according to ranking without additional selection procedures.

Evaluation criteria include entrepreneur capability, feasibility of startup realization, and effort in preparation. Preference will be given to those who closed businesses in the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone after January 1, 2018.

Mayor Seong Chang-hyun of Yongsan-gu said, “The charm of the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone remains strong. Despite COVID-19, the large number of tourists visiting on Halloween is proof of this,” adding, “Starshop entrepreneurs will further strengthen the competitiveness of the special zone.”

Since last April, starting with the ‘Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Resolution Rally’ held at the outdoor stage next to Hamilton Hotel, the district has worked with local merchants to operate the Itaewon Commercial District Revitalization Task Force, support small business disaster crisis recovery, support Yongsan-style good landlords, utilize vacant spaces for the Starshop Project, and implement the Our Neighborhood Store Artterior project.

Since November 2021, the district has accelerated commercial district revitalization by opening the underground parking lot (B4~B5 floors, 374 spaces) of the district office building located in the Itaewon Tourism Special Zone 24 hours a day.

The Itaewon Tourism Special Zone is one of six tourism special zones in Seoul. Covering 383,292㎡ around Itaewon and Hannam-dong, it is densely packed with shopping malls, restaurants, and tourist hotels catering to foreign tourists. After the Korean War, souvenir sales targeted U.S. military personnel stationed at the U.S. 8th Army base. The commercial district expanded in the early 1970s when the 121st Evacuation Hospital entered the U.S. 8th Army base, and it was designated as Seoul’s first tourism special zone in 1997.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 3rd that it has opened the 2nd branch of the ‘GS25 Tomorrow Store’ for enterprise-linked self-support work in cooperation with the Songpa Regional Self-Support Center.

The district operates the Songpa Regional Self-Support Center as a social welfare facility under private consignment to support the economic, psychological, and social self-support and independence of low-income residents in the area. It runs nine business units and two self-support enterprises, including caf? operations, cooking assistance, cleaning, disinfection, delivery, and home repair, providing work opportunities to about 170 low-income residents.

‘GS25 Tomorrow Store’ is a self-support work store jointly operated by the Songpa Regional Self-Support Center and GS Retail. It is one of GS Retail’s social contribution projects for vulnerable groups, providing convenience store jobs to self-support workers with work willingness. The name implies creating a happy ‘Tomorrow’ through ‘My Job.’

GS Retail waives investment costs such as deposit, rent, and interior expenses for opening the store, while the Songpa Regional Self-Support Center selects participants.

Additionally, the convenience store provides training on store management, franchise store management know-how, and job skills.

The first ‘GS25 Tomorrow Store’ (GS Pungnap Hyundai Branch) opened in Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, in February last year, employing 6 to 7 self-support workers. Due to positive feedback, the second store (GS Songpa Wirye Branch) opened on November 30 last year.

The second store is located in Jangji-dong, Songpa-gu, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It provides jobs to 6 to 8 self-support workers, supporting their work capacity enhancement and self-support independence.

Mayor Park Seong-su of Songpa-gu said, “We will successfully operate the second Tomorrow Store to help the vulnerable economically independent and continuously create jobs,” adding, “If participants wish to take over the store in the future, we will support them to start self-support enterprises, making it a successful model of self-support work.”

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that from January this year, it will support employment insurance premiums for solo self-employed individuals, low-income workers, artists, and special employment workers facing economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the 2020 Nowon Statistical Yearbook, there are 26,618 businesses in Nowon-gu with 116,684 employees. Among them, 59,586 are insured under employment insurance, with a subscription rate of 51.1%.

Especially, businesses with fewer than 10 employees, which are vulnerable to employment instability and economic downturn, account for 93.7% of all businesses, but their employment insurance subscription rate is only 36.5%, the lowest, indicating an urgent need for incentives to create a stable employment environment.

Therefore, from January this year, the district will support employment insurance premiums for solo self-employed individuals exposed to livelihood risks such as business closure due to COVID-19, workers in businesses with fewer than 10 employees, artists, and special employment workers.

This support aims to reduce the burden of social insurance subscription and promote social insurance enrollment to strengthen the employment safety net.

Eligible recipients are residents registered in Nowon-gu who newly participate in the Durunuri social insurance premium support project as workers in businesses with fewer than 10 employees, artists, special employment workers, and solo small business owners newly enrolled in employment insurance in Nowon-gu.

Among them, workers, artists, and special employment workers in businesses with fewer than 10 employees will receive full support for their share of the insurance premium, while solo small business owners will receive 20% support of the applicable standard premium payment.

The support period is from January to November 2022, and applications can be made quarterly. The district plans to accept applications via the district office website and the Job Economy Division during each quarterly application period.

Solo self-employed individuals and workers wishing to participate must first enroll in employment insurance (Durunuri) through the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service, pay social insurance premiums, and then apply for support. The district will verify and provide support funds accordingly.

The district aims to increase the employment insurance subscription rate to 53% and the number of insured persons to 61,842 through this pilot employment insurance support project this year.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu said, “The local economy can withstand the prolonged COVID-19 crisis only if vulnerable groups and small-scale self-employed individuals can overcome the recession,” adding, “We will continue to identify and support gaps and blind spots where social safety net benefits are hard to reach.”

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Seong) received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award in the 2021 Excellent Local Government Evaluation in the Basic Livelihood Security field hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The Excellent Local Government Evaluation in the Basic Livelihood Security field is a system where the Ministry of Health and Welfare comprehensively evaluates 229 local governments nationwide based on joint local government evaluations, system operation, and work cooperation to select excellent local governments.

Since the relaxation of the basic livelihood security allowance support obligation criteria in January last year, Guro-gu has actively promoted a customized benefit system targeting vulnerable residents.

In particular, it received high praise for actively utilizing the Local Livelihood Security Committee deliberations to expand support for welfare recipients and eliminate blind spots in poverty.

As a result, additional welfare recipients were discovered, increasing the number of basic livelihood security recipients in the district from 7,566 households and 10,254 people in 2020 to 9,154 households and 13,200 people last year, a 21% increase.

A Guro-gu official said, “We plan to donate part of the prize money received to social welfare facilities in the district to support vulnerable residents,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to create a happy and warm welfare city, Guro.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) was the only district among Seoul’s 25 autonomous districts to be selected as an excellent institution for performance in the ‘2021 Hope Work Support Project’ and received the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award.

The ‘Hope Work Support Project’ is a public job project promoted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to support the livelihoods of vulnerable groups suffering economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to revitalize the local economy.

Over the past two difficult years due to COVID-19, the district operated the largest scale Hope Work Support Project among Seoul’s autonomous districts, investing a total of about 18 billion KRW, including 16.2 billion KRW in national funds, providing jobs to 4,124 vulnerable people facing economic hardship.

Particularly notable was its contribution to preventing the spread of infectious diseases through various projects such as disinfection of multi-use facilities.

The district operated the ‘Gang Gam-chan Disinfection Team’ for disinfection of parks, subway stations, and bus stops, delivered ‘Gang Gam-chan Disinfection Supply Packages’ to support disinfection of private multi-use facilities, and promoted compliance with disinfection rules and visitor control in high-risk multi-use buildings, which received high evaluations.

Meanwhile, the district plans to continue the ‘Gang Gam-chan Gwanak-type Livelihood Stability Job’ project next year, providing jobs to about 1,000 Gwanak residents and focusing administrative efforts on job creation and local economic recovery through continuous budget securing.

A district official said, “We are pleased that our efforts to create jobs have been recognized with the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award for the Hope Work Support Project,” adding, “We will actively discover and promote various job projects for residents facing economic difficulties due to COVID-19 employment hardships.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) will begin operations at the Samyang-dong Resident Center complex application building from the 10th.

The Samyang-dong application building is located near the Samyang Market Five-way Intersection (69 Solmae-ro). It has excellent accessibility, being close to Samyang Station on the Ui-Sinseol Urban Railway and Mia Station on Subway Line 4. The building spans 2,997.68㎡ from basement level 1 to the 5th floor. The basement level 1 has 13 parking spaces and electric vehicle charging stations; the 1st floor houses the civil affairs office, administration office, unmanned civil document issuance machines, and volunteer camp.

The 2nd floor includes the Saemaeul Library (small library), Dongdaemun Headquarters, infant reading room, and nursing room; the 3rd floor houses the Gangbuk Dream Start Center and Education Welfare Center. The 4th floor contains meeting rooms, three cultural lecture rooms, and the residents’ autonomy committee office; the 5th floor features a multipurpose auditorium and broadcasting equipment facilities.

Children can enjoy jumping on trampolines or sliding down slides in the infant reading room. Safety mats are installed on the reading room floor to comfortably read books borrowed from the small library. The Gangbuk Dream Start and Education Welfare Centers plan to provide customized integrated services for vulnerable children in their newly renovated spaces.

The application building is a public facility donated by the Mia 3rd District Redevelopment Association, the housing redevelopment project implementer. The Mia 3rd District will have 15 apartment buildings (1,045 households) ranging from basement level 3 to 22 floors above ground, along with auxiliary facilities, scheduled for completion by August 2024.

Mayor Park Gyeom-su of Gangbuk-gu said, “The newly transformed Samyang-dong Resident Center is a multifunctional complex reflecting administrative, educational, and welfare needs,” adding, “We will provide a higher level of resident services here and create a trusted space for residents.”

Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) opened 10 locations of the public art project ‘Jungnang Our Neighborhood Art Museum’ in 2021. The project started in 2019, and 26 artworks have been installed in Jungnang-gu.

The Our Neighborhood Art Museum project is a resident-centered aesthetic improvement initiative carried out through collaboration among artists, designers, youth, university students, volunteer clubs, and many experts and residents. It transforms neglected spaces, once walked past indifferently, into everyday art spaces, receiving high praise from residents.

The Our Neighborhood Art Museum involves resident participation and opinion gathering from site selection, artist selection, artwork planning, to installation. Murals and sculptures fitting the space are installed to create beautiful and safe landscapes.

Each artwork is carefully managed through review and consultation by the Jungnang-gu Public Design Committee and installed by professional artists, ensuring high artistic quality. This year, artworks were installed in 10 locations including Mangwoo-dong, Junghwa-dong, Muk-dong, and Myeonmok-dong. The artworks vary in form, including murals, flat sculptures, and creative experimental fence art, making it enjoyable to tour artworks throughout Jungnang-gu.

Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi of Jungnang-gu said, “The Our Neighborhood Art Museum project is especially meaningful because it was created together reflecting residents’ opinions,” adding, “I hope residents enjoy the fun of walking around the neighborhood and appreciating the artworks.”

The Our Neighborhood Art Museum project, which brightens Jungnang-gu’s urban spaces more beautifully, is expected to continue in 2022. The district will accept project site applications through resident contests in the first half of the year and select final sites.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Roh Hyun-song) has taken active steps to eliminate address blind spots.

Following the assignment of object addresses to 503 bus stops last July, the district announced that it has assigned object addresses to 118 small urban parks frequently used by residents.

Object addresses specify the location of facilities and spaces not corresponding to buildings using road names and base numbers, providing convenient and accurate location information.

Small urban parks, easily found nearby, are places residents often visit for rest but previously had no assigned addresses.

As a result, it was difficult to quickly respond to safety accidents in parks due to the inability to confirm exact locations.

The district installed object address plates at 118 small urban parks without addresses, enabling anyone to easily identify park locations.

This will facilitate efficient facility management and allow fire stations and police to be accurately informed of incident locations in emergencies, enabling prompt response.

Additionally, the assigned object addresses are expected to be reflected in internet portal sites and navigation systems in the future, increasing their utility.

A district official said, “Anyone can easily check park location information, which is expected to enable quick responses to safety accidents,” adding, “We will continue to expand object address assignments for residents’ safe and comfortable daily lives.”

Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) Ssangmun 4-dong has partnered with the international women’s volunteer organization ‘International Soroptimist Seoul Club’ since January this year to provide long-term support to disadvantaged young women in the area.

A local young woman A, who dreams of becoming an illustrator despite difficult family circumstances, will receive monthly tuition support from Ssangmun 4-dong and the International Soroptimist until she achieves her goals such as enrollment or employment and becomes independent.

This case is especially meaningful as a Ssangmun 4-dong official actively connected the applicant’s unfortunate story to the International Soroptimist’s support.

The International Soroptimist was founded in 1921 in Oakland, California, USA, by over 80 professional women with the mission to improve the quality of life for women and girls. It is the world’s largest women’s volunteer organization active in 121 countries. The Korean association started as the Seoul Club in 1966 and now has 41 clubs nationwide.

The young woman A, who will receive support from the new year, said, “I am very happy to have this opportunity when I desperately need financial help due to difficult family circumstances while dreaming of becoming an illustrator. I sincerely thank those who support me and want to become someone who helps others after achieving my dream.”

Shin Kyung-ho, head of Ssangmun 4-dong, said, “We thank the Soroptimist Seoul Club for helping young women achieve their dreams during these difficult times due to COVID-19,” adding, “Ssangmun 4-dong will actively support young women in the area, including A.”

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