'2021 Yeongdeungpo Yeouido Spring Flower Festival' Wins Festival Content Award... Songpa-gu Ranks 1st in Seoul Traffic Culture Index 2021

[Seoul District News] Korean Festival Content Association Hosts, Seongdong-gu Wins Grand Prize at 2022 Korea Festival Content Awards... Seongdong-gu Selected Best in Governance at 2022 Local Government ESG Korea Awards... Songpa-gu Ranks 1st in Seoul and 2nd Nationwide in 2021 Traffic Culture Index Survey by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport... Dongdaemun-gu Announces 2022 New Deal Policy Comprehensive Plan for 73 Projects in Green, Digital, and Human New Deal Sectors... Gwangjin-gu Opens Applications for Small Garden Plots... Guro-gu Installs IoT Beacon Flashers and LED Lighting

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) received the grand prize at the ‘2022 Korea Festival Contents Awards’ in recognition of the achievements of the ‘2021 Yeongdeungpo Yeouido Spring Flower Festival’ held last year.

With this award, the ‘Yeongdeungpo Yeouido Spring Flower Festival’ has continued to win the grand prize for five consecutive years, except for 2020 when the festival was canceled due to COVID-19, starting with the Excellence Award in Festival Program Production in 2016.

The Korea Festival Contents Awards, hosted annually since 2013 by the Korea Festival Contents Association, honors festivals and festival experts who have contributed to regional economic revitalization and the development of festival content.

This year’s award was selected through a competition targeting festivals successfully held amid the COVID-19 crisis over the past year, evaluated by a panel of judges composed of academic representatives and festival experts on criteria such as distinctiveness, originality, and development potential of the festivals.

The ‘Yeongdeungpo Yeouido Spring Flower Festival,’ which signals the beginning of spring, is a representative festival of Seoul. Every year, millions of visitors come to see the magnificent cherry blossom trees lining Yeouiseo-ro behind the National Assembly.

Last year, unlike the full closure in 2020, the festival was held in a hybrid format of online and offline to provide comfort and rest to residents who endured COVID-19.

As an offline festival, a limited viewing ‘Spring Flower Walk’ program was held on the cherry blossom path of Yeouiseo-ro, where access was controlled, for selected participants through a lottery and socially considerate groups such as seniors and people with disabilities who find outings difficult.

As an online festival, a virtual spring flower festival space was created online, operating a dedicated website where visitors could upload photos and participate in missions, recording approximately 1.23 million views.

The festival received much attention and praise for newly presenting the direction festivals should take in the COVID era by establishing offline programs that comply with quarantine rules and an online festival platform.

A district official said, “This award is an achievement recognizing the new form of hybrid online and offline festivals in the with-COVID era. As confirmed cases are rapidly increasing due to variant viruses, we will devise various measures to ensure that people can enjoy the spring flowers healthily this year as well.”

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) was selected as the best local government in the Governance (G) category at the ‘2022 Local Government ESG Korea Awards’ jointly hosted by the ESG Happy Economy Research Institute and Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies on the 18th.

This evaluation conducted a relative assessment among basic local governments under metropolitan governments through 51 quantitative and in-depth evaluation indicators analyzing the importance of ESG issues during the target period (‘20 to first half of ’21). The importance evaluation was based on sustainability impact and social interest, aligned with global initiatives (UN SDGs, ISO26000, GRI, etc.), comparing the ESG administrative systems and capabilities of basic local governments.

According to the ‘Basic Local Government ESG Evaluation Index’ announced by the ESG Happy Economy Research Institute, Seongdong-gu scored a comprehensive rating of 94.60 out of 100 in the Governance category, earning an S (highest) grade and ranking first among the 25 districts of Seoul in Governance.

The Governance category evaluated mayoral pledges, financial efficiency and soundness, resident participation and council activities, and external evaluations (innovation evaluations over the past three years). As of the end of June last year, Seongdong-gu showed a high pledge fulfillment rate of 85.6%.

The district, which stood out for its administration that keeps promises by achieving the highest grade (SA) for four consecutive years in the pledge fulfillment evaluation by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters last year, also received high scores in financial soundness, local council activities, and external agency evaluations.

This month, Seongdong-gu established the ‘2022 Seongdong-type ESG Policy Comprehensive Plan’ and plans to focus on sustainability by actively promoting a public-private-resident tripartite governance project worth 990 million KRW to fully implement ESG.

Mayor Jung Won-oh of Seongdong-gu said, “It is an honor to receive such a meaningful award as ESG has become an essential administrative paradigm. We will continue to do our best to build a sustainable city, Seongdong.”

Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) ranked first among the 25 districts of Seoul and second among 69 district groups nationwide in the ‘2021 Traffic Culture Index Survey’ conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

Mayor Park Seong-su explained the background of this achievement, saying, “It is the result of traffic safety policies tailored to residents’ needs, such as the nation’s first bicycle repair center installation, expansion of ‘Yellow Carpet’ zones in school protection areas, and installation of ground-level pedestrian signals.”

The Traffic Culture Index is one of the most credible traffic safety statistics, started in 1998 based on Article 57 of the Road Traffic Act to advance traffic safety. The survey evaluates three categories comprehensively: driver’s ‘driving behavior’ (weight 55), pedestrian’s ‘walking behavior’ (weight 20), and local government’s traffic safety policies (weight 25).

Songpa-gu scored 88.31 points, about 7.5 points higher than the national average of 80.87. Particularly, it scored 22.39 points in the ‘traffic safety’ category, about 28% higher than the national average, due to high expertise and policy implementation rate.

Songpa-gu’s traffic culture index trend improved dramatically from 80.86 points (16th nationwide, B grade) in 2018 to 88.31 points (2nd nationwide, A grade) in 2021. Only seven district groups nationwide received an A grade, and Songpa-gu is the only one in Seoul.

Mayor Park Seong-su said, “A livable city starts with traffic safety. We will continue to implement leading traffic policies tailored to residents’ needs to protect their safety and happiness and make Songpa-gu a leader in Seoul’s traffic culture.”

Meanwhile, Songpa-gu plans to focus on projects this year such as ‘Protection Zone Improvement’ for vulnerable traffic groups, ‘Pedestrian Priority Road Creation’ for safe alleyway passage, and ‘Electric Kickboard Usage Environment Improvement’ to build a safer traffic environment.

Dongbu Hospital Smart Garden

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) announced the ‘2022 Dongdaemun-type New Deal Policy Comprehensive Plan’ tailored to local conditions to effectively respond to the post-COVID era in line with the government’s Korean New Deal.

This comprehensive plan includes 11 core tasks, 31 focused projects, and 73 detailed projects centered on the three major areas of ‘Green, Digital, and Human.’

Key projects of the Green New Deal policy to realize a carbon emission zero and green city include ▲creating urban forests to reduce fine dust ▲expanding solar energy distribution ▲mandatory installation of renewable energy in public buildings ▲undergrounding of power lines ▲green building improvement projects to enhance aging residential environments and energy efficiency ▲and waste reduction projects, all to be implemented step-by-step.

To respond to the post-COVID era and accelerate the transition to a non-face-to-face, smart digital economy, the plan includes ▲building smart administrative services that allow residents easy access to administrative information ▲supporting smart museum construction through digital museum-based local tourism programs and metaverse Yakryeong Market production ▲and operating digital care projects for vulnerable health groups to establish smart medical infrastructure.

Finally, to protect vulnerable groups who suffer greater difficulties during crises and to reduce economic disparities, the plan aims to ▲discover jobs based on local industries and nurture human resources for employment ▲expand the Bodeumnuri program and strengthen local networks to build a solid employment and social safety net.

Last year, to promote the Dongdaemun-type New Deal policy, the district applied for government, Seoul city, and external New Deal public projects, securing a budget of 3 billion KRW through selection in 16 projects including ▲public building green remodeling ▲electric vehicle charging infrastructure expansion ▲AI and IoT-based senior health management services ▲and conversion of senior centers to zero-energy buildings (ZEB).

Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol of Dongdaemun-gu said, “As the global crisis caused by COVID-19 continues, shifting policies centered on Green, Digital, and Human is no longer a choice but a necessity. The district will proactively respond to government policies and lead district development by swiftly implementing ongoing projects started last year and newly selected projects this year based on this comprehensive plan.”

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is accepting applications for a total of 264 plots of leftover garden lots at three locations until the 25th.

The leftover garden lots currently offered by the district include three sites: Gwangjang-dong leftover garden, Achasan leftover garden, and Jungnangcheon leftover garden, totaling 5,800㎡ and 264 plots, which can be cultivated from April 8 to November 30.

Individual applicants who are residents of Gwangjin-gu can choose among 200 plots at Gwangjang-dong and Achasan leftover gardens, with one application allowed per household. Each plot is about 6㎡ and costs 30,000 KRW per household.

Especially this year, to support the healthy lives of the increasing number of single-person households, 20 plots out of the 200 individual plots will be separately allocated exclusively for single-person household applicants.

For group applications, organizations with addresses in Gwangjin-gu are eligible. Under the condition of donating 50% of the harvest, 64 organizations will be allocated one plot (about 7.5㎡) each at the Jungnangcheon leftover garden.

Residents and organizations cultivating the gardens will receive seedlings suitable for spring and autumn, and be lent leaf mold and farming tools. The district also operates a ‘Harvest Donation Day’ where harvested crops can be donated to low-income groups in the area.

Individuals and organizations wishing to apply can apply online through the Gwangjin-gu website by 5 p.m. on February 25. The results will be announced on March 11 through a computerized lottery. Seniors aged 65 or older who have difficulty applying online can visit the Gwangjin-gu Office’s Parks and Greenery Division for in-person application.

Additionally, the district plans to accept applications for ‘box gardens’ in March, which allow easy cultivation of crops in leftover residential spaces such as rooftops.

Box gardens enable eco-friendly vegetable cultivation by mixing soil and compost in boxes, and come with a wick-type watering system that allows simple cultivation without directly watering the plants.

Mayor Kim Seon-gap of Gwangjin-gu said, “We hope residents find comfort for their weary hearts from COVID-19 by cultivating leftover garden lots and gain vitality from the infinite life force of the soil. We ask for the active interest and participation of residents in this project prepared to revitalize urban agriculture.”

Guro-gu (Mayor Lee Sung) installed 350 ‘smart security lights.’

Guro-gu announced on the 22nd, “To ensure the safe return of residents walking through dark alleys, we started installing ‘smart security lights’ in the Guro-dong area last year and recently completed the installation.”

The target area is 350 locations in Guro 2-dong (from 20 Gamasan-ro 12-gil to 54 Gurodong-ro 7-gil), where small households such as single-person households are densely located.

‘Smart security lights’ are security lights equipped with beacon flashers, IoT (Internet of Things) signal devices based on short-range wireless communication networks. They use LED lighting to enhance energy efficiency and visibility.

Guro-gu linked the ‘Seoul Safe’ app with the smart security light functions. When a pedestrian activates the ‘return home monitoring’ feature on the app and approaches within 10 meters of a smart security light, the light’s brightness automatically increases.

The smart security lights also have an ‘emergency report’ function in the app. In an emergency, shaking the smartphone or pressing the ‘emergency report’ button immediately contacts a police officer at the Guro Integrated Operation Center. Moreover, nearby smart security lights equipped with beacon flashers continuously blink, allowing police and surrounding pedestrians to quickly identify the reporter’s location.

Meanwhile, Guro-gu also operates an ‘Safe Return Scout’ program near six subway stations in the area, accompanying residents on their way home in the evening.

A Guro-gu official said, “We expect the smart security lights to alleviate residents’ anxiety when walking late at night. We will continue to do our best to make Guro a safe place where residents can live with peace of mind.”

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