Opening of Nowon-gu Surak Senior Welfare Center

Located near Madeul Station in Sanggye Administrative Complex Town, with a total floor area of 4,359㎡ spanning 1 basement floor and 5 above-ground floors

Equipped with various functions such as Senior Counseling Center, Informatization Learning Center, Health Exercise Room, Billiards Room, Table Tennis Room, Movie and Music Room, Senior Dining Hall, Nowon Senior Club, etc., offering counseling, education, hobbies, health, and job opportunities... The 4th floor Nowon Senior Counseling Center is the first in the nation to be directly operated by the district, ensuring professionalism and sustainability

Opening ceremony of the welfare center held at 4 PM on the 7th in the 3rd floor auditorium

Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will open the new concept public Surak Senior Comprehensive Welfare Center with various functions on the 7th.

As of May this year, the population of seniors aged 65 and over residing in Nowon-gu is about 93,000, ranking third among Seoul’s autonomous districts, accounting for 18% of the total district population.

As of 2021, there are 261 senior leisure welfare facilities (senior welfare centers, senior centers, senior classes), the highest number among Seoul’s autonomous districts. However, according to the ‘2023 Nowon-gu Senior Status Survey,’ 58% of seniors know about these facilities but do not use them.

In response, the district decided to establish a new concept senior welfare center that provides content tailored to user demands such as counseling, education, hobbies, health, and jobs. This aims to support seniors’ healthy and vibrant later life by reflecting their diverse needs.

The senior welfare center, with a total floor area of 4,359㎡ spanning 1 basement and 5 above-ground floors, is located in Sanggye Administrative Complex Town near Madeul Station in Sanggye-dong.

The interior includes: ▲ 1st floor with a ‘Senior Dining Hall’ ensuring hearty meals for seniors, ‘Information Desk and Volunteer Room’ ▲ 2nd floor ‘Learning Center’ for senior education ▲ 3rd floor ‘Main Auditorium,’ ‘Small Auditorium’ with a wooden floor suitable for flexibility exercises, and an ‘Outdoor Garden’ featuring a waterwheel, green trees, and flowers ▲ 4th floor ‘Nowon Senior Counseling Center’ comforting seniors’ minds, ‘Nowon Senior Club’ responsible for jobs, and ‘Community Room’ for socializing over Janggi and Baduk games ▲ 5th floor ‘Health Exercise Room’ equipped with 14 units of 10 types of exercise machines and 9 units of 4 types of massage machines, ‘Health Counseling Room’ providing personalized health information by resident nurses, ‘Functional Recovery Room’ for physical therapy, ‘Billiards Room,’ ‘Table Tennis Room,’ and ‘Movie and Music Room.’

Particularly notable is the Nowon Senior Counseling Center on the 4th floor. Until now, the district lacked a specialized counseling center for seniors addressing issues such as elderly suicide, depression, and sexual problems. As the first in the nation to be directly operated by the district, it is expected to guarantee professionalism and sustainability.

Counseling services are completely free, removing economic burdens for seniors and significantly lowering the threshold for seeking help. Services will include individual and group counseling, telephone counseling, psychological therapy and programs, training of senior specialized counselors, and activities to improve counseling awareness.

Additionally, the welfare center is expected to contribute to spreading leisure culture and providing self-development opportunities through 32 lifelong education and hobby courses. The existing welfare center meal support service, which only provided lunch, will be expanded to include breakfast to prevent senior malnutrition, and a volunteer group utilizing seniors’ careers and capabilities will also be operated.

Furthermore, programs such as elder abuse prevention education, sex education, and a 1.3-generation integration program involving seniors and youth will be conducted.

5th Floor Health Exercise Room

For the next five years, the welfare center will be entrusted to the social welfare corporation Daehan Buddhist Jogye Order Social Welfare Foundation to operate, aiming to establish itself as an open space for a silver life of sharing and learning through customized social welfare services tailored to welfare needs and characteristics. Use is available to all seniors aged 60 and over residing in the area.

The opening ceremony will be held at 4 PM on the 7th in the 3rd floor auditorium. About 500 people, including the district mayor, members of the National Assembly, city and district council members, senior center executives, and local residents, are expected to attend. Smartphone education, calligraphy fan making, cup lettuce seedling planting, and dementia safety center campaigns will also be held.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “The Surak Senior Comprehensive Welfare Center will be like a forest hideout for seniors in the city,” adding, “We will continue to identify and support the diverse needs of seniors to make Nowon a better place for seniors to live.”

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