Making Spring Flower Memories on Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road... Launch of Mapo-gu Busking Performance Group

[Seoul District News] Dongdaemun-gu Operates Jang-an Cherry Blossom Photo Zone and Night Lighting from March 28 to April 17... '2022 Gwangjin Residents Cherry Blossom Walk' Held... Yongsan-gu Distributes Companion Plants to Low-Income Elderly Households... Jung-gu Creates Streetside Areas Filled with Spring Flower Fragrance... Mapo-gu Launches Busking Performance Group ‘Mapo Yurangdan’ to Revitalize Tourism Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Spring is the perfect season for a scenic walk. How about creating memories of 'life photos' along the Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road, filled with fresh spring breeze, warm sunlight, and the subtle scent of cherry blossoms?

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) announced that instead of holding the spring flower festival in 2022 due to COVID-19, from March 28 to April 17, various photo zones and nighttime lighting facilities will be installed and operated along the Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road by Jungnangcheon (section from Gunja Bridge to Ihwa Bridge).

During this period, a total of 14 photo zones featuring flowers, rabbits, and moon models harmonizing with spring flowers such as cherry blossoms, cornelian cherries, forsythias, Kerria japonica, and azaleas will be operated along the fully bloomed walking path. In particular, title photo zones using the phrase ‘Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road’ will be installed in various locations. Additionally, from sunset until 11 p.m., various colored nighttime landscape lights will illuminate under the moonlight, allowing visitors to enjoy the cherry blossoms blended with light.

Along with this, an outdoor gallery set up between Jangpyeong Bridge and Jang-an Bridge will exhibit 60 works by local photography clubs under the theme ‘Spring Comes to Me.’

Last year, the photo zones and nighttime lighting along Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road, created for the first time in spring, received great responses from residents. This year, the district extended the operation period by about three weeks so that residents can fully enjoy the spring flowers in the open Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road, escaping the confined daily life caused by COVID-19.

Furthermore, the district plans to capture the spring flower scenes on video and release them on the Dongdaemun-gu Office YouTube channel so that residents can enjoy the spring flower scenery from home.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “Although the prolonged COVID-19 situation has greatly exhausted and challenged the physical and mental health of local residents, I hope this will be a time to safely enjoy the energy of spring outdoors and build joyful memories along Jang-an Cherry Blossom Road for comfort.”

Dongdaemun-gu canceled events such as the 2022 spring flower festival, Seonnong Daeje, and walking competitions due to COVID-19.

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) is recruiting 300 residents to participate in the ‘2022 Gwangjin-gu Residents Cherry Blossom Road Walking Festival.’

The ‘2022 Gwangjin-gu Residents Cherry Blossom Road Walking Festival’ will be held on April 1 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Seoul Children’s Grand Park. Participants will start from the Open Stage and walk a course passing through ▲Animal Fairy Tale Village ▲Guui Gate ▲Amusement Park ▲Seoul Imagination Land, returning to the Open Stage.

The walking course is approximately 2.5 km and takes about 35 minutes.

During the walking course, there will be times to receive raffle tickets and souvenirs at Guui Gate and Seoul Imagination Land respectively. After completing the course, a lottery will be held to award prizes such as bicycles and fans. Souvenirs, including tumblers, will be given to all participants.

Gwangjin-gu prepared this event to welcome the upcoming spring, revitalize the atmosphere dampened by COVID-19, and promote residents’ physical activities to invigorate daily life.

The target participants are 300 Gwangjin-gu residents. Those who wish to participate can apply by calling the Gwangjin-gu Sports Council. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Participants will be allowed entry after temperature checks and mask-wearing verification. Gwangjin-gu will comply with quarantine plans by installing hand sanitizers and assigning staff and volunteers to guide social distancing and enforce distancing measures during the event.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We organized this event hoping that residents exhausted by COVID-19 can regain vitality by walking together along the cherry blossom road in Children’s Grand Park. I hope the walking festival allows residents to feel the approaching spring.”

Jang Su-yeon, an official at Yongsan District Office, is holding a Spathiphyllum, which will be provided as a pet plant, and smiling brightly on the 24th.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) will distribute companion plants to 200 low-income elderly residents starting in April to help support their emotional stability.

The recipients are low-income seniors aged 65 or older residing in the district. Based on recommendations from the Yongsan Senior Welfare Center, Galwol Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, Hyochang Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, Cheongpa Senior Welfare Center, and Yongsan Home Care Support Center, 200 households including elderly living alone, grandparent-grandchild households, and elderly couples interested in companion plants will be selected.

The plants to be distributed are roses and two types of Spathiphyllum. Roses are notable for their fragrant scent and vibrant flowers. Spathiphyllum is excellent for indoor air purification. Recipients can choose the plant they prefer.

The district will also provide horticultural therapy services. A horticultural therapist will visit the households to deliver the companion plants and conduct horticultural psychological counseling, including activities such as talking to the plants, giving them nicknames, and taking photos.

A district official stated, “Graduates of the horticultural therapy course at the Yongsan Women’s Human Resources Development Center will serve as horticultural therapists, contributing to job creation for women who have experienced career breaks.”

After distribution, quarterly phone-based horticultural therapy will continue to check the condition of the plants and inquire about the seniors’ well-being.

Mayor Seong Jang-hyun said, “Plants grow new leaves and bloom flowers with time and care. I hope seniors maintain vitality by connecting with horticultural therapists and neighbors through plants.”

The companion plant distribution project is part of the basic plan to revitalize urban agriculture. This year, the district will also promote the creation of ecological education centers in schools and the distribution of eco-friendly box gardens.

Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) has embarked on creating streets filled with spring flowers so that residents can fully enjoy the season.

This month, the district planted 31,450 spring flowers including violas, daisies, and poppies at 17 green spaces along the streets near Dongdaemun Digital Plaza (DDP). Along the streets near Jeongdong-gil and Majang-ro 9-gil, street flower pots filled with spring flowers were installed, and 18,977 spring flowers such as lupines and aniseed were planted along eight routes including Euljiro and Toegye-ro to bring seasonal vibrancy to otherwise monotonous pedestrian spaces.

A district official said, “We are decorating areas around residents’ living spaces and main roads with colorful spring flowers so that residents can feel spring throughout the streets. Especially this year, we plan to focus flower road creation around tourist districts and local commercial areas to revitalize the economy affected by prolonged social distancing.”

Last autumn, 145,600 bulbs including tulips and alliums were planted in local parks, village yards, and traffic islands, and they are expected to bloom in April, harmonizing with the newly planted spring flowers to brighten the streets.

The district plans to continue filling the streets with seasonal flowers by installing hanging flower pots and street flower pots along major routes such as Toegye-ro, Samil-daero, and Dasan-ro until April.

Additionally, the district is expanding green spaces by utilizing small leftover spaces around residential areas. Street green belts and traffic island pocket gardens not only improve urban aesthetics but also significantly contribute to reducing fine dust and mitigating urban heat island effects. The ‘Our Neighborhood Alley Pocket Garden’ project, where residents cultivate green spaces in alleys near their homes, also helps restore community culture.

It has been over two years since the lively Hongdae street, once bustling with busking performances before COVID-19, transformed into a calm tourist area.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) held a busking event on the 23rd at the Hongdae Walking Street Meeting Square to revitalize small business owners and the tourism industry in the Hongdae area.

The event, organized by the Mapo Cultural Tourism Association (President Pyo Young-ho), included the selection of the ‘2022 Mapo Wandering Troupe,’ a busking performance team that will participate in the upcoming ‘Gyeongui Line Forest Trail Cultural Event’ this year.

The selected ‘Mapo Wandering Troupe’ will perform busking shows at various tourist attractions throughout Mapo-gu starting in June. Besides busking performances, the ‘Gyeongui Line Forest Trail Cultural Event’ will feature art exhibitions and various events to promote tourism and local economic revitalization.

Pyo Young-ho, President of the Mapo Cultural Tourism Association, said, “Today’s busking performance marks a new beginning for busking culture on Hongdae Street, and we will strive to expand busking culture centered in Hongdae throughout Mapo.”

Along with the busking event, a commemorative tree planting ceremony was held to celebrate the upcoming Arbor Day and to wish for the revitalization of Mapo’s tourism culture.

Jeju Air provided five pine trees and 150 azaleas, which were planted on the ‘AK& Hongdae’ public open space by Mapo-gu, the Mapo Cultural Tourism Association, and Jeju Air.

After the tree planting ceremony, participants wrote their wishes for the year on a wish tree made of artificial maple leaves and hung them on the tree.

The wish tree will be displayed at each ‘Mapo Wandering Troupe’ busking venue to offer an event for visitors. When the busking performances conclude in November, participants in the event will be entered into a drawing to win prizes such as hotel accommodation vouchers and airline tickets provided by Jeju Air.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “I hope that tourism competitiveness in Mapo will recover through tourism infrastructure such as the creation of the Hongdae Festival Street and designation of the Hongdae Cultural Arts Tourism Special Zone, as well as cultural content like Hongdae busking performances. We will spare no support so that cultural artists can lead Mapo’s tourism culture after COVID-19.”

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