Yangcheon-gu Provides Premium Lunchboxes to Prevent Child Hunger During Lunar New Year Holiday

Rebranded as ‘Hamkkehaeuri,’ expanding recipients to 70, increasing support unit price to 11,380 KRW

Supports without deducting from Kkum Namu Card to ease financial burden, sends reassurance text to guardians before delivery

Simple early meal kit boxes including rice cake dumpling soup, pork ribs, fruit, juice delivered for 3 days from the 18th to the 20th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Lee Gi-jae) announced that during the Lunar New Year holiday, it will provide 3 days’ worth of ‘Hamkkehaeuri Lunchboxes’ consisting of simple early meals, fruits, and snacks to 70 children at risk of missing meals due to guardian absence from the 18th to the 20th, minimizing the holiday meal service gap.

Especially, starting this year, the district rebranded the lunchboxes as ‘Hamkkehaeuri Lunchboxes’ using the official district character ‘Haeuri’ to approach children more familiarly. The number of recipients expanded from 52 to 70, and the support unit price increased from 8,000 KRW per meal to 11,380 KRW, allowing for a menu composed of higher quality food.

Additionally, the support method was improved so that the amount charged to the Kkum Namu Card (meal card) is not deducted for the holiday lunchboxes, easing the financial burden.

The ‘Hamkkehaeuri Lunchboxes’ consist of ▲meal items (beef bone rice cake dumpling soup, seasoned pork ribs, beef bulgogi hot pot, pasta) ▲snacks (fruit, glutinous rice snacks, honey snacks, juice) in a simple cooking style, and a total of 3 days’ worth (worth 68,280 KRW) of food packages based on 2 meals per day will be delivered to 70 children at risk of missing meals recommended through the local community centers from the 18th to the 20th. The district plans to send reassurance texts to parents worried about their children’s meals before lunchbox delivery, conveying warm and heartfelt holiday wishes.

Meanwhile, the Yangcheon Love Welfare Foundation (Chairman Kim Deok-young) also supported the ‘Hamkkehaeuri Lunchboxes’ by donating part of the support fund (1 million KRW).

Since 2015, the district has supported holiday lunchboxes for 770 children at risk of missing meals over 16 occasions. Furthermore, during this winter vacation, it is supporting meals for about 1,400 children, encouraging them to grow up healthy without hunger.

Lee Gi-jae, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “I hope the ‘Hamkkehaeuri Lunchboxes’ will be a hearty meal for our children during the Lunar New Year holiday,” and added, “We will continue to provide quality meals so that growing children can grow up strong without missing meals.”

Jung-gu Ensures Safety of Markets and Construction Sites Ahead of Lunar New Year

Seoul’s Jung-gu (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) has begun joint public-private safety inspections of traditional markets and construction sites ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Traditional markets have narrow aisles and densely packed stores, which can lead to large-scale accidents in case of fire or other incidents. From January 3 to 17, the district will thoroughly inspect facilities at 25 locations including Cheongpyeonghwa Market, Jungbu Market, and Myeongdong Alley Shopping District.

Along with experts, they will check for abnormalities in electrical and gas facilities, elevators, and fire safety equipment. They will also verify whether evacuation routes are secured and free of obstructions in case of mass evacuation during disasters.

To prepare for possible adverse weather and prevent safety accidents during the holiday, safety management inspections of construction sites will be conducted from the 11th to the 17th. A total of 45 sites will be visited, including the Hills State new construction site in Hwanghak-dong and the Euljiro 4-ga Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District.

Focus will be on whether construction machinery such as tower cranes is properly managed, whether fences and fall prevention nets are securely installed, whether safety equipment is worn, and whether emergency contact networks are functioning.

Kim Gil-seong, Mayor of Jung-gu, stated, “We will thoroughly inspect traditional markets and construction sites to ensure there are no safety hazards so that residents can spend the Lunar New Year holiday comfortably.”

Dongdaemun-gu Recruiting Participants for 2023 Seoul-type New Deal Jobs

Up to 18 months, monthly maximum 2.41 million KRW... Job competency enhancement and employment education support

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) is publicly recruiting participants for the ‘2023 Seoul-type New Deal Jobs’ on the Seoul Job Portal from the 16th to the 20th for 5 days.

The Seoul-type New Deal Jobs is a Seoul city job policy that hires local youth in the public sector providing essential services to residents, aiming to solve youth unemployment.

Anyone who is a Seoul citizen aged 18 or older (born before 2005), currently unemployed as of the announcement date (January 9), and not subject to ‘exclusion criteria for participation’ can apply.

Selected participants will receive one month of job training before starting work. The employment period is from April 2023 to March 2024, with salaries paid based on the Seoul-type living wage (hourly wage of 11,157 KRW) for up to 18 months.

Regarding the 2023 Seoul-type New Deal Jobs, Dongdaemun-gu plans to recruit a total of 8 people across 5 project fields: ▲1 YouTube content planning and production expert ▲1 youth SNS promotional content planning and production expert ▲1 family welfare expert ▲2 welfare roommates for ‘Dongil-i-ne’ (single-person households in Dongdaemun-gu) ▲3 social welfare practice experts to strengthen independent living capabilities for people with severe developmental disabilities.

Dongdaemun-gu will actively cooperate in operating the Seoul-type New Deal Jobs, faithfully serving as a stepping stone so that residents can gain work experience in professional fields rather than simple labor jobs and smoothly transition into private sector employment.

◆Dongdaemun-gu ▲Director of Resident Welfare Bureau Son Hwan-sik

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