Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok Expands Communication in the First Year of the 8th Elected Term

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, Holds Meeting with Employees, Young Artists, and Residents to Commemorate the 1st Anniversary of the 8th Elected Term

Engages in Honest Conversations Over Barbecue with Employees Representing Different Generations; Video Released on YouTube Channel

Meets with Local Young Artists through Human Library, Communicates on Policy Directions in Culture and Arts

Hosts Meeting with Resident Autonomy Committees from 19 Neighborhoods, Reflecting on the First Year of the 8th Elected Term by Listening to On-site Voices

Oh Seung-rok, the mayor of Nowon District, is communicating with employees while grilling samgyeopsal.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, has actively engaged in various forms of communication with employees and residents ahead of the 1st anniversary of the 8th elected term.

First, on the 15th, Mayor Oh held a special gathering at Choan Mountain Camping Site to talk with employees. The purpose was to express gratitude to frontline workers and to unite efforts in advancing the district administration during the 8th elected term.

Mayor Oh prepared the meeting by lighting the fire and grilling meat himself. The barbecue talk was attended by three employees representing generations in their 20s to 40s, who enjoyed barbecue along with craft beer made by the Nowon Craft Beer Cooperative while continuing their conversation.

During the Q&A session, several questions and episodes were selected from 66 submissions collected in advance from employees. Mayor Oh answered a wide range of questions, from trivial and personal topics such as school days anecdotes, stress relief methods, and “What’s in my bag” introductions, to messages for employees in their 20s and 30s, his administrative philosophy, and directions for Nowon’s development.

The district plans to release the video recorded that day on the official Nowon District Office YouTube channel, Mihongssi, and will hold a comment event to share it with more employees and residents.

Next, on the 24th, a Human Library special session will be held with local young artists. The Human Library is a new concept reading service where instead of paper books, people with experience and knowledge in specific fields (human books) are lent out. Nowon District is the first nationwide and the only district in Seoul to operate a permanent Human Library.

This will be the second Human Library session with Mayor Oh this year. Following a conversation in February with a resident in their 30s on Nowon’s residential conditions, this time the mayor will engage with 10 local young artists to discuss cultural policies and development directions for Nowon, including a Q&A session.

Unlike typical small-scale Human Library sessions, this event will be held in a special session format to hear voices from artists active in various genres such as classical music and painting.

With the 8th elected term’s administrative goal set as a cultural city and related projects being actively promoted, the district plans to use this meeting with young artists to review the effects of cultural policies implemented over the past year and identify areas for improvement.

Finally, meetings are being held with resident autonomy committees from 19 neighborhoods to listen to residents’ voices. This is to reaffirm the direction of the 8th elected term’s administration by engaging in dialogue with committee members who are well aware of local issues and residents’ inconveniences.

Since last month, Mayor Oh has been explaining the overall administration and progress of neighborhood-specific projects during these meetings, while listening to suggestions. So far, meetings with committees from nine neighborhoods have been completed, and plans are in place to meet with all neighborhood committees by next month.

Suggestions from residents raised during the meetings are forwarded to relevant departments for feasibility review. Feasible items are systematically managed through reporting sessions with department heads, and if necessary, on-site visits will be conducted to discuss implementation methods further with residents.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon District said, “As we have been running non-stop, the 8th elected term has already reached its first anniversary. We will strengthen communication with our administrative partners?employees and residents?to reflect on the past year and reaffirm the direction we need to take moving forward.”

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