Gwanak-gu to Provide Free Meals for Kindergartens Starting This March

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Provides Free Meals to 2,685 Public and Private Kindergarten Students Following Elementary, Middle, High, and Special Schools; Kindergarten Free Meal Budget 495 Million KRW, Total 2022 Free Meal Budget 5.891 Billion KRW... Dongjak-gu Supports Cultural and Artistic Workers with 1 Million KRW Each Without Personnel Limits... Yongsan Craft Center Hosts Special Exhibition ‘Next Generation Exhibition_Beyond Boundaries’... Geumcheon-gu Announces 2022 Neighbor Well-being Volunteer Program Contest... Yeongdeungpo-gu Recruits Tenants for ‘Social Economy Support Center’ for Social Enterprises... Jungnangcheon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) will implement free school meals during the semester for all public and private kindergartens in the district starting this year.

Since 2011, the district has promoted eco-friendly school meals to realize universal educational welfare and provide quality meals, gradually expanding the support targets. By 2021, all students in elementary, middle, high, and special schools in the area received free school meals.

From this year, all public and private kindergarten students will be included in the support targets, benefiting a total of 31,941 students, including 2,685 public and private kindergarten students.

Accordingly, the district has allocated a total budget of 5.891 billion KRW for free school meals this year, including 495 million KRW for kindergarten free meal support.

To ensure smooth project implementation, in December last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors, Seoul City, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education signed a business agreement, with the autonomous district, Seoul City, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education each bearing the budget in a 2:3:5 ratio.

Additionally, the district secured a budget of about 1 billion KRW to provide high-quality and balanced meals and snacks to infants and toddlers in 204 daycare centers in the area.

Since 2020, the district has raised the standard amount to 2,400 KRW, 500 KRW higher than the government proposal, and has been supporting about 7,000 infants and toddlers in national, public, private, and home daycare centers with 10,000 KRW monthly for meals and snacks. This year, the support amount will increase by 750 KRW to 15,000 KRW per month.

A district official said, “With the implementation of free kindergarten meals, children will receive quality meals, and parents’ economic burdens will be alleviated. We will continue to develop educational policies for the healthy mental and physical development and growth of children.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) will provide ‘Living Stability Funds’ from the 17th through March to support local cultural and artistic workers facing economic difficulties due to COVID-19.

This measure was prepared to help cultural and artistic workers continue their creative activities without interruption despite economic hardships caused by cancellations or postponements of performances, exhibitions, and festivals amid the unprecedented infectious disease crisis of COVID-19.

Eligible recipients must be holders of an arts activity certificate registered as residents of Dongjak-gu as of the announcement date, with household income at or below 120% of the median. The support amount is 1 million KRW per person.

Unlike the first and second rounds where payment amounts were adjusted based on the number of selected recipients, this time, a fixed amount of 1 million KRW per person will be paid regardless of the number of selected artists. Artists who received support in the first and second rounds can also apply again.

Recipients will be selected after document review verifying eligibility and checking for duplicate payments in other districts. Confirmed recipients will receive the funds in early March via their personal bank accounts.

The household members eligible for application include the applicant and those living together and sharing livelihood (excluding cohabitants). Income is verified by summing the health insurance premiums of all household members.

Applications can be submitted by visiting the Sports and Culture Division at Dongjak-gu Office (9th floor, Yuhan Yanghaeng) or by email (sny6496@dongjak.go.kr) with the required documents including the application form, arts activity certificate, and resident registration certificate (including all changes) by February 7.

Park Tae-han, head of the Sports and Culture Division, said, “We hope this measure will provide some help to cultural and artistic workers struggling due to COVID-19. We will continue to support them so they do not give up their creative activities.”

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) Yongsan Craft Center (274 Itaewon-ro) is holding a special exhibition until February 27, inviting six holders of national intangible cultural heritage certifications to celebrate the new year.

The exhibition features about 30 works by six masters in the fields of Seonja (fan making), Hwahae (traditional shoes), Yugi (brassware), Chil (lacquer painting), Nubi (quilting), and Somok (wood furniture).

The participating artists are Kim Dae-sung (Seonja master), Hwang Deok-sung (Hwahae master), Kim Beom-yong (Yugi master), Ahn So-ra (Chil master), Kim Eun-joo (Nubi master), and Kim Dong-gyu (Somok master). The works can be viewed free of charge in the multipurpose room on the 4th floor of the Yongsan Craft Center.

A Yongsan Craft Center official said, “The intangible cultural heritage holders faithfully inherit traditions in their fields or develop them in their own directions, shaping the future of traditional crafts. In this sense, we refer to them as the ‘next generation’ of our crafts and planned this exhibition to raise interest in traditional crafts for the new year.”

Intangible cultural heritage refers to intangible objects designated for national preservation due to their artistic, historical, and academic value. In Korea, holders are granted certification after completing at least three years of education and verifying their performance skills to promote the transmission of intangible cultural heritage.

Besides this, the Yongsan Craft Center is holding a seasonal special exhibition titled ‘Chil_The Temperature of Color’ at the traditional crafts sales area and craft promotion hall on the 1st floor. The exhibition features works that combine beautiful colors and functionality, applying modern design and color to lacquerware, which has been widely used since ancient times.

Seong Jang-hyun, mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “The Yongsan Craft Center was established to serve as a hub for preserving traditional crafts and passing on skills. We hope many interested people visit to feel the scent of past masters in the works of the next generation artisans and meet the future of our crafts.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) is holding the ‘2022 Neighbor Well-being Volunteer Program Contest’ from the 14th to the 24th to create a caring, safe, and secure society.

The contest covers all volunteer activities aimed at creating a well-being society, including overcoming COVID-19.

Activities include checking on neighbors and delivering daily necessities to those isolated due to COVID-19, disinfection, distribution and production of quarantine supplies, support for quarantined individuals, environmental campaigns such as the plastic zero campaign, good consumption campaigns supporting small business owners, and non-face-to-face education activities (such as life sports and language classes) utilizing residents’ talents.

The contest targets volunteer groups active in Geumcheon-gu, including volunteer camps, volunteer clubs, middle and high school student volunteer clubs, and corporate volunteer groups, with a total budget of 30 million KRW.

Interested groups can download the application forms such as the local subsidy application and project plan from the ‘Notices and Announcements’ section on the Geumcheon-gu Office website, complete them, and submit them in person or by email to the Geumcheon-gu Volunteer Center.

Geumcheon-gu will review submitted project plans based on ‘project effectiveness,’ ‘program impact,’ and ‘ripple effect,’ and announce the final selected groups on the district website in March, notifying the selected groups individually.

Yoo Sung-hoon, mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “We hope this volunteer contest will build a well-being network in various areas. We will also strive to activate a resident-led, life-close volunteer culture in our society.”

A scene of maintaining a stream using a dapsari broom instead of a plastic broom

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is captivating citizens’ attention with the unique scenery of the purple-colored Kochia (Bassia scoparia) along Jungnangcheon Stream.

Last July, 1,200 Kochia plants about 10 cm tall were planted under Eungbong Bridge on Jungnangcheon Stream. They have now grown to the height of a small child, forming a wide garden.

Kochia is a plant that blooms light green flowers in midsummer and turns red like autumn leaves when the weather gets cold. It is known for its strong vitality and ability to grow well even in harsh environments such as shaded areas.

The district planted Kochia under the Eungbong Bridge, where sunlight is relatively scarce and plants have difficulty growing, to make the riverside?a natural feature compared to urban green spaces?feel warmer and give users a sense of vastness. Utilizing its round and cute growth characteristic, the district added large eyes to transform the plants into friendly characters, offering joy and familiarity to visitors of Jungnangcheon.

Last month, the district gathered Kochia, nicknamed ‘broom grass,’ which can be dried for a few days and made into brooms, and produced 10 brooms. These eco-friendly brooms made from Kochia that died in Jungnangcheon are used for stream maintenance.

The Kochia garden, which soothes the hearts of residents shrinking from prolonged COVID-19 and winter cold, naturally changes color from light green to deep purplish red depending on the season, establishing itself as a healing space in the riverside city of Seongdong.

Jung Won-oh, mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “During these tiring and difficult times due to COVID-19, I hope residents find some comfort and joy. We will continue to actively work to make the riverside in Seongdong-gu, which has the longest waterfront in Seoul, a healing space harmonizing with residents’ lives.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is recruiting one new company to move into the ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Social Economy Support Center’ to nurture social economy organizations with growth potential.

The ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Social Economy Support Center’ is designed to systematically support the autonomous growth of social economy enterprises. It is located in the annex of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office (80 Seonyu-dong 1-ro) and consists of offices, incubating rooms, and meeting rooms for resident companies on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

The district provides low-cost activity spaces for startups and prospective entrepreneurs, aiming to strengthen mutual networks among various social economy actors centered on the center and revitalize the community-based social economy through multifaceted efforts.

The target for recruitment is companies in the growth stage established within five years as of the announcement date, which must be social economy organizations such as (prospective) social enterprises, cooperatives, village enterprises, or self-sufficiency enterprises.

The district will select resident companies through a two-stage review process: first document screening, then evaluation by the Yeongdeungpo-gu Social Economy Promotion Committee, comprehensively considering factors such as members’ capabilities and qualifications, contribution and connectivity to the local community, business performance and growth potential, and appropriateness of motivation and business plan for residency.

Selected companies can use a 28.22㎡ office at a low cost for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension through review. Rent is calculated based on the lease rate under the ‘Yeongdeungpo-gu Shared Property and Goods Management Ordinance,’ and companies bear taxes and public charges proportional to the area.

They can also use shared spaces such as meeting and training rooms and receive professional education and networking support in management, accounting, marketing, and other areas necessary for operating social economy enterprises.

Social economy enterprises wishing to move in can download the application forms from the ‘Notices & Announcements’ section on the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office website, complete them, and submit them in person or by email (kang521@ydp.go.kr) to the Social Economy Division of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office from January 24 to 26 by 6 p.m.

For more details, contact the Social Economy Division of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office or refer to the announcement posted on the district website.

Chae Hyun-il, mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “The Yeongdeungpo-gu Social Economy Support Center plays a solid stepping stone role for social economy enterprises with high potential to grow stably. We will actively support companies that create shared value and realize sustainable social value to grow together with the local community.”

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