Seocho-gu, the First Local Government Nationwide to Establish a 'Metaverse One-Person Household Support Center'

[Seoul District News] Seocho-gu Establishes 'Metaverse Seocho 1-Person Household Support Center' in Zepeto Virtual Space for 1-Person Household Networking · Provides Community, 1-Person Household Support Services, Game Zone, and Experience Opportunities... Jongno-gu Launches '1-Person Household Check-in Dedicated Call'... Gwanak-gu Secures 4.2 Billion KRW for Public Cable Maintenance... Dongdaemun-gu Selected for Digital-Based Aging and Hazardous Facility Safety Management System Project, Secures 700 Million KRW... Gangbuk-gu Promotes Food Culture Improvement for Safe Food

Metaverse Seocho 1-Person Household Support Center 1-Person Household Support Project Promotion Zone

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu has implemented the ‘Metaverse Seocho 1-Person Household Support Center’ to support the formation of social networks for single-person households who find it difficult to engage in exchange activities due to the prolonged social distancing measures.

This is the first time nationwide that a local government has implemented a single-person household support center in the metaverse.

The district utilized the metaverse platform ‘Zepeto’ to create the single-person household support center online, featuring spaces such as a shared kitchen, community room, broadcasting room, book cafe, counseling room, coin laundry, and seminar room. It consists of dedicated spaces where single-person households can comfortably relax and enjoy themselves, as well as zones for promoting single-person household support projects and game zones.

The virtual center also offers casual games for light enjoyment, and rooftop and first-floor outdoor areas have been set up as community spaces where single-person households can gather for parties. With avatars reflecting their individuality, users can make friends without restrictions of time and space and communicate anonymously about concerns they could not share with those around them.

Additionally, an opening commemorative photo event will be held for seven days from March 2 to 9. The event, titled ‘Our Center Now,’ is a parody of the popular Netflix series ‘All of Us Are Dead.’ Participants find helper characters dressed as zombies at various mission points in the virtual center, take selfies with them, and send the photos to the center’s email. Gifts will be awarded through a drawing. For detailed participation methods, please refer to the Seocho 1-Person Household Support Center website and the center’s YouTube channel ‘Seocho Single Talk.’

This ‘Metaverse Seocho 1-Person Household Support Center’ was created with the purpose of expanding communication channels for single-person households and providing a place where they can comfortably interact anytime and anywhere in virtual reality.

In the future, the district plans to offer various programs such as psychological counseling, lectures, and festivals for single-person households, including one-on-one counseling with professional counselors in the virtual center.

Seo Chung-min, Head of the Child and Youth Division, said, “We expect the metaverse single-person household support center to become a space where single-person households can make friends and communicate,” adding, “We hope that more single-person households will meet in the virtual space to reduce loneliness and actively engage with each other.”

Jongno-gu will operate a dedicated call line 1104 ‘Let Us Hear Your Voice’ for checking on single-person households as part of the lonely death prevention project from March to December this year.

This measure considers the increase in single-person households, family breakdowns, and social isolation due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, which have led to the disruption of social networks and a rise in isolated households.

The district planned this project to build a stronger welfare safety net than before and create a community free of lonely deaths.

Unlike the previous method where counselors called welfare recipients, this project focuses on recipients themselves calling counselors to confirm that they are doing well comfortably. Through this, welfare recipients will participate actively rather than just being beneficiaries, contributing to the care system and community safety net.

Jongno-gu aims to select about 100 single-person household residents at risk of lonely death who belong to legally low-income groups such as basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty classes, recommended by local community centers by the end of this month.

Starting next month, counselors will receive regular check-in calls twice a week from the target residents and will contact them directly only if calls are not received. If there is no contact with the call center for two or more consecutive times, the community center staff will request a direct visit for counseling.

Additionally, to encourage participation, residents who complete all check-in calls will receive a small gift certificate quarterly.

Jongno-gu has been striving to identify socially isolated and at-risk households enduring difficulties and loneliness alone.

For example, the district produced a lonely death prevention leaflet titled ‘Living Together’ including a checklist to find neighbors in need and distributed it to convenience stores, marts, goshiwons, and motels frequently used by residents.

Moreover, the district operates ‘Sodamtok’ (News-filled Talk), a KakaoTalk service delivering welfare information and counseling services in all 17 neighborhoods.

After obtaining prior consent, individual chat rooms are created to regularly provide customized welfare information and allow simple counseling with welfare planners, which has been well received for its convenience.

A district official explained, “This project helps alleviate feelings of alienation and loneliness by regularly exchanging check-ins,” adding, “Since small interests from neighbors can prevent lonely deaths, we will work hard to build a more thorough welfare safety net based on community participation.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) received the highest rating in the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘2022 Local Government Maintenance Plan Evaluation’ and secured a public cable maintenance budget of 4.2 billion KRW.

The district achieved the highest rating for two consecutive years in this evaluation and secured a maintenance budget of 4.2 billion KRW this year following last year’s 4.2 billion KRW.

Due to high population density, population mobility, and multi-family dense residential environments, residents have continuously demanded public cable maintenance. The district recently established a five-year public cable maintenance plan and is accelerating efforts to improve residents’ safety and urban aesthetics.

Accordingly, the district plans to invest a total of 21 billion KRW by 2026 to maintain 6,825 poles and 375 km of cables, aiming to achieve 65% maintenance of the total volume. This achievement is expected to provide a foundation for more continuous and stable progress of the public cable maintenance project based on the five-year plan.

With the secured budget, this year, 11 areas in 8 neighborhoods including Cheongnyong-dong and Miseong-dong will be prioritized for maintenance. The district plans to jointly maintain public cables such as communication lines and power lines tangled on utility poles with Korea Electric Power Corporation and telecommunication operators.

During project implementation, the district will form and operate on-site task forces composed of residents, officials, and experts for each target area to ensure successful maintenance through active resident participation and opinion gathering, and will strengthen public relations.

The project plans to complete 40% of the total volume cumulatively. Upon completion, it is expected to significantly meet the demand for improved urban aesthetics.

A district official said, “Based on the five-year public cable maintenance plan, we will thoroughly pursue systematic and phased maintenance to dramatically improve urban aesthetics and enhance residents’ quality of life.”

Meanwhile, since signing a maintenance agreement with Korea Electric Power Corporation and telecommunication operators in 2009, the district has continuously carried out public cable maintenance. Urgent public cable complaints can be reported to the Public Cable Maintenance Call Center.

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) was selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Digital-Based Safety Management System for Aged and Hazardous Facilities’ project and secured a national subsidy of 700 million KRW.

The ‘Digital-Based Safety Management System for Aged and Hazardous Facilities’ project integrates 4th industrial revolution technologies such as IoT sensors into aged hazardous facilities to establish an efficient continuous safety management system.

The district plans to build a digital-based safety management system for aged and high-risk facilities by adding 700 million KRW of district funds to the secured national subsidy of 700 million KRW.

The installation targets include 23 public buildings (senior centers, reading rooms, etc.), 16 private buildings (large stores, welfare facilities, etc.), and 65 urban infrastructure sites (overpasses, steep slopes, retaining walls, pedestrian bridges, bridges, etc.), totaling 104 locations. These were selected focusing on multi-use facilities frequently used by residents and facilities with high damage potential in case of disasters.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “By integrating 4th industrial revolution technologies to build a safety management system capable of continuous monitoring, we will alleviate residents’ safety concerns and create a communication-centered Dongdaemun-gu where the public and private sectors cooperate.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) is launching a food culture improvement project targeting food hygiene establishments to reduce food waste and establish a proper dining culture.

Gangbuk-gu has been providing reliable food to residents by designating model restaurants through hygiene inspections and service evaluations of food service establishments.

In November last year, inspections were conducted on previously designated model restaurants, resulting in 85 out of 88 restaurants being re-designated as model restaurants. This year, the district plans to recruit new model restaurants and conduct inspections and re-designations of designated model restaurants. The selected model restaurants can be found on the Gangbuk-gu Health Center website → Information Plaza.

Additionally, to create a safe dining environment for residents, the district has evaluated the hygiene status of food hygiene establishments and managed restaurants that received one of three hygiene grades. Up to last year, 88 establishments were graded, with 80 receiving the highest grade of ‘Excellent.’

The district also supported the replacement cost of floor seating tables with standing tables in general restaurants to provide a more comfortable dining environment. The target was establishments with annual sales under 100 million KRW within the district. As a result, three establishments received support, installing a total of 24 tables and 92 chairs.

Starting this year, the district will also support the purchase cost of side dish refrigerators to achieve zero leftover food in general restaurants. The district plans to create self-service corners where customers can serve side dishes themselves, reducing greenhouse gases generated during food waste processing and fostering an eco-friendly food culture.

The support target includes establishments providing basic side dishes that wish to participate in the zero leftover food project. Selected establishments will receive up to 500,000 KRW per establishment.

Finally, the district will conduct a ‘Zero Leftover Food Joint Campaign’ in cooperation with the Gangbuk-gu branch of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association. A district official said, “We will promote the food culture improvement project not only to business owners but also to residents who use restaurants to reduce food waste.”

Park Gyeom-su, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “We hope residents can enjoy dining out in a clean and hygienic environment free from concerns about food poisoning or expired ingredients,” adding, “We will also strive to reduce the amount of food waste generated by restaurants to make Gangbuk-gu more eco-friendly.”

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