Geumcheon-gu Operates 'Smart Morning Reading' Program for All Employees

[Seoul District News] Geumcheon-gu Provides Weekly Smartphone Alerts on New Books, Overseas Books, and Media Briefings... Gangnam-gu Publishes Tourism Guidebook 'It's Gangnam'... Yeongdeungpo-gu Advances Innovation Education District Project with 'Village and School' Vision... Seodaemun-gu Operates Publicity Team to Raise Awareness of Resident Participatory Budgeting... Yangcheon-gu Runs Corporate Traffic Demand Management Program 'Green Recipe'... Nowon-gu Tops Seoul in Smoking Reduction Rate Compared to Last Year... Dongdaemun-gu Leads in Early COVID-19 Loss Compensation

Smart Morning Reading Usage Scene

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) will operate the ‘Smart Morning Reading’ program for all employees starting in February.

‘Smart Morning Reading’ is a program introduced to create a reading-friendly culture in the workplace and to help employees develop professional competencies suited to the trends of the globalization era.

Geumcheon-gu provides information such as summaries of domestic bestsellers and new books once a week via smartphone notifications (KakaoTalk, text messages, etc.). This allows employees to engage in effective non-face-to-face learning using spare moments in their busy daily lives.

Additionally, through linked mobile websites or PCs, employees can freely learn not only summaries of domestic bestsellers and new books but also ▲summaries of overseas books ▲global trends ▲overseas media briefings ▲academic information by field.

The total content includes about 4,000 items, containing the latest analysis materials in various fields such as economy, culture, IT, bio, nanotech, and key information from overseas media like The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

Participants in Smart Morning Reading will have their learning time recognized, and outstanding learners will be selected and awarded annually.

In addition, Geumcheon-gu is making efforts every year to establish a reading culture among employees through various methods such as four-season libraries, reading mileage operation, correspondence reading education, and support for work-related books.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “Strengthening employees’ reading capabilities is a policy that must progress together with creating a pleasant reading environment for residents,” adding, “We will operate various reading programs so that employees can apply the information gained through learning to their work.”

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) will publish a tourism guidebook ‘It’s Gangnam’ that introduces themed attractions such as tourism, restaurants, galleries, shopping, beauty, and architecture by dividing Gangnam-gu into six zones.

This guidebook reorganizes various themed attractions by zone to allow a quick understanding of Gangnam-gu’s landmarks and characteristics, featuring vivid photos that capture the on-site atmosphere and arranging hotspots and routes from a traveler’s perspective for easy viewing.

Tourism information for six zones, including Gangnam-gu’s representative specialized streets such as Apgujeong Rodeo Street, Cheongdam Luxury Street, Sinsa-dong Garosu-gil area, as well as Yeoksam, Nonhyeon, Samsung, and south of Yangjaecheon, has been updated. Recommended tour courses by zone help domestic and international tourists plan travel routes according to their preferences.

‘It’s Gangnam,’ produced in Korean and English versions, will be available from next month at Gangnam-gu Office, community service centers, major tourist information centers, hotels, and SRT Suseo Station. An e-book version will also be published simultaneously, allowing content to be checked on mobile phones.

Jeong Soon-gyun, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said, “During the 7th local government term, Gangnam-gu has actively attracted foreign tourists by running CNN advertisements and broadcasting the global content ‘Gangnam Insiders Picks’ weekly in 27 countries,” adding, “We will continue to create ‘Gangnam, the No.1 tourist city’ through overseas broadcasts, the application ‘The Gangnam,’ and guidebooks.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is fully launching the Yeongdeungpo Innovation Education District project with the vision of ‘a village and school where no child is left behind and everyone goes together.’

The ‘Innovation Education District Project’ is a project that provides various educational services that cannot be learned in regular school classes based on governance among residents, the district office, and schools for the happy growth of children and youth.

Marking the 7th year of the Yeongdeungpo Innovation Education District, the district plans to provide high-quality educational services based on deeper and stronger resident-government-school governance, helping children and youth grow as agents of their own lives.

To this end, five areas with 22 projects will be promoted: ▲school education with the village ▲strengthening support systems for village activities ▲children and youth autonomous activities ▲resident-government-school governance operation ▲regional specialized projects (Dream Bojagi).

‘School education with the village’ is a program linked to the curriculum. Utilizing village resources, programs such as ‘parent safety education,’ ‘village exploration,’ ‘career education,’ and ‘job experience’ will be conducted. Last year, 19,440 people participated across 36 elementary, middle, and high schools.

‘Strengthening support systems for village activities’ is a project that increases out-of-school experiential spaces to provide diverse village education aimed at learning and rest. Projects include ‘village instructor training,’ village-based educational content ‘Visiting Space School,’ and after-school programs ‘n Lives - n Schools’ conducted in the village.

In particular, through the operation of a neighborhood-level educational guardian system where schools and local communities cooperate to provide integrated support for children and youth needing educational assistance, the district will serve as a healthy neighbor providing consistent care and support close to students.

‘Strengthening children and youth autonomous activities’ is a project that offers various opportunities for youth to demonstrate their talents and skills in the village through voluntary participation. Youth clubs such as the ‘Jamong (夢) Project,’ youth autonomous federation ‘Yu-Ja-Cheong,’ and Yeongdeungpo Education Festival ‘Youth Autonomous Hanmadang (Popo Festival)’ will be held.

‘Resident-government-school governance’ aims to activate the participation network for qualitative leaps in innovation education by promoting projects such as ‘small public forums,’ ‘growth support consulting,’ and ‘our village education debates.’ This year, discussions will also be held to establish development plans for the third phase (2023?2026) of the Innovation Education District.

The regional specialized project ‘Yeongdeungpo Dream Bojagi’ means ‘respecting individual diversity and warmly embracing all children.’ Collaborating with local artists, it supports ‘career art experience activities,’ operates the ‘Dream Together Project’ for multicultural family students, and the ‘Dream High Classroom’ for students struggling to adapt to school, helping youth grow healthily.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “Based on close cooperation among residents, government, and schools, we will do our best to revitalize a village education community that everyone can empathize with,” adding, “We will continuously achieve educational innovation, the top priority of district administration, by utilizing Yeongdeungpo-gu’s diverse strengths.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) is recruiting promotional members by the 15th of this month to raise interest and consensus on the resident participatory budgeting system and widely publicize its achievements through various channels.

The recruitment targets citizens residing or active in Seoul who are interested in the resident participatory budgeting system and own personal blogs or SNS accounts. They must also be capable of creating content such as articles, videos, or card news.

Promotional members who will work as the second term following the first term last year will be responsible for ▲planning promotional content for resident participatory budgeting ▲covering related events and producing articles, card news, and videos ▲promoting through Seodaemun-gu’s official SNS and participatory budgeting SNS.

They will also attend promotional group planning meetings held every two months and participate in a performance sharing meeting at the end of the year.

Applicants can download the application form and self-introduction from the Seodaemun-gu website’s notice section, fill them out, and send them via email.

The district will appoint up to five second-term participatory budgeting promotional members next month after document screening, interviews, and basic training.

Preference will be given to those with ▲experience in blogging, YouTube, or SNS activities ▲experience in reporting or filming ▲experience in resident participatory budgeting, resident autonomy, or village community projects ▲residing or active in Seodaemun-gu.

Selected promotional members will receive a fixed manuscript fee and meeting attendance allowance and participate in capacity-building workshops. The term lasts until the end of January next year.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “The resident participatory budgeting system, which enhances the transparency and efficiency of local financial management, is expected to be further activated through the activities of the promotional members.”

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it will actively promote the Green Recipe (Yangcheon-type Corporate Traffic Demand Management Program) project reflecting regional characteristics.

Corporate traffic demand management is a system where large buildings and companies with a total floor area of 1,000㎡ or more voluntarily participate in traffic volume reduction programs and receive reductions in traffic inducement charges based on their performance.

The Green Recipe, the Yangcheon-type corporate traffic demand management program being promoted this time, is a traffic volume reduction program reflecting the district’s regional characteristics, which include densely populated residential areas and many small-scale facilities. It is designed to induce voluntary participation from small-scale companies (facilities) and realize low-carbon green transportation through joint traffic volume reduction activities.

The district created a Green Recipe menu to make it easy for residents to select programs eligible for reduction benefits. The menu consists of three areas: green transportation environment creation projects ▲green city Eco Yangcheon creation projects ▲others (installation of parking control systems).

Details include 11 programs such as ▲support for public transportation and bicycle use ▲green holiday operation ▲improvement of traffic environment around facilities ▲eco-drive education ▲installation of parking control systems. Companies can receive up to a 5% reduction in traffic inducement charges by implementing programs suitable for their characteristics after reviewing the menu.

Companies (facilities) wishing to participate must submit a traffic volume reduction implementation plan to the district’s Traffic Administration Division by July 31 or apply online.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “We hope many companies (facilities) in the region will participate in the Green Recipe project, which contributes to low-carbon green growth through traffic volume reduction activities and offers benefits such as reductions in traffic inducement charges.”

Smoking Cessation Clinic Hair Analysis

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok)’s smoking cessation support project has shown effectiveness, leading to a decrease in smoking rates.

According to the community health statistics published in July 2021, the smoking rate in Nowon-gu in 2020 was 13.1%, lower than the national smoking rate of 18.3% and Seoul’s 16.6%. Notably, it decreased by 7.5% compared to 20.6% in 2019, the highest smoking reduction rate among Seoul’s autonomous districts. This is interpreted as the effect of the district’s active smoking cessation support project.

A particularly notable part of the smoking cessation support project is the incentive for successful quitting. Nowon-gu is the only autonomous district in Seoul that provides cash support of up to 600,000 KRW for smoking cessation success. Depending on the months of cessation, recipients receive 100,000 KRW at 12 months, 200,000 KRW at 24 months, and 300,000 KRW at 36 months. Any resident registered in Nowon-gu from the date of registration at the smoking cessation clinic to the smoking cessation success criteria date can apply.

To this end, the district has established a special account for creating a smoke-free environment and operates by returning fines collected from smokers in non-smoking areas to residents who successfully quit smoking. In 2021, a total of 874 people received smoking cessation success support funds.

The smoking cessation clinic operates on Wednesday nights and the fourth Saturday morning of every month to encourage participation from workers who find it difficult to attend during weekday daytime hours. Over the past year, 5,106 people visited the clinic for counseling, and 1,356 registered for smoking cessation. Clinics linked with local health centers operate to provide smoking cessation services as close as possible to residents’ homes.

As the smoking age gradually lowers and youth smoking becomes a serious issue, smoking prevention education is also conducted for youth in the district. Last year, 4,889 students from 16 elementary schools participated in 32 sessions, and 3,839 students from 7 middle schools participated in 7 sessions. The district expects this to help delay the trend of increased smoking populations by preventing smoking experiences during growth periods that harm health.

Efforts were also made to designate and enforce non-smoking areas to prevent harm from secondhand smoke and promote a smoking cessation culture. In 2018, non-smoking areas were designated within 10 meters of daycare centers and kindergartens to protect children vulnerable to tobacco smoke. In 2019, bicycle paths and walking trails along local streams were designated as non-smoking areas, and in 2020, all 98 elementary, middle, and high schools were designated as non-smoking areas within 10 meters. In 2021, two additional non-smoking areas were designated, and enforcement led to 2,773 fines.

Finally, the ‘Smoke-Free Apartment Certification Project’ is also underway. Given that apartments account for 80% of the district’s housing, this aims to prevent conflicts and damage among residents caused by smoking. As of December last year, a total of 96 complexes have been certified as smoke-free apartments.

These efforts were recognized when the district was selected as an excellent institution in the ‘2021 Making Seoul a Smoke-Free City’ project evaluation.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Deciding and acting to quit smoking is not easy, but it is essential for the health of individuals and the community,” adding, “I hope many residents will succeed in quitting smoking this year through the various smoking cessation support policies promoted by the district.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) will provide disaster relief funds totaling 2.45 billion KRW for 10 projects to support residents struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

This disaster relief fund payment was promoted to discover blind spots excluded from government and Seoul city COVID-19 support targets and to fill gaps in loss compensation, with sequential support planned around the Lunar New Year holiday.

In particular, considering the lack of support for the youth group, 40% of the disaster relief fund resources will be allocated as employment incentives for unemployed youth, expanding support for young people facing difficulties.

Disaster relief funds paid to a total of 5,385 people including unemployed youth and closed small business owners

Unemployed youth and closed small business owners will receive 500,000 KRW each, and individual and corporate taxi drivers will receive 400,000 KRW each.

The unemployed youth employment incentive targets unemployed individuals aged 19 to 34 within two years after graduation from their highest education level. Support for closed small business owners is limited to those who closed after March 2020 and have not previously received support. Taxi drivers are eligible if their company or association is located in Dongdaemun-gu, regardless of whether they reside in the district or other cities/provinces such as Gyeonggi-do.

Support for a total of 600 businesses including daycare centers and elderly care facilities

Daycare centers, local children’s centers, and kindergartens will receive 1 million KRW each, and elderly care facilities will receive between 500,000 KRW and 1 million KRW depending on facility size. Three local village bus companies, which suffered significant damage due to COVID-19, will receive 10 million KRW each, and religious facilities will receive 500,000 KRW per location.

The district plans to use contingency funds for disasters and accidents to provide disaster relief funds as quickly as possible to residents who have been struggling for a long time.

Additionally, the district will actively discover and support those who have not received any support related to COVID-19 damages.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “I feel sorry that this may not be enough to comfort residents exhausted by COVID-19,” adding, “We will do our best to discover blind spots in loss compensation and provide support as quickly as possible to those in urgent need.”

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