Seocho-gu Provides Self-Defense Training for 'Safe Return Firefly Members'

Members of the Seocho-gu Safe Return Firefly team after completing self-defense training. (Photo by Seocho-gu)

Seocho-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) conducted self-defense training on the 8th for the “Safe Return Fireflies (late-night escort service)” volunteers at the Seocho Women and Family Plaza Bangbae Center. This was aimed at enhancing the crisis response capabilities of the Fireflies volunteers in response to the recent series of “random attacks.”

The training, led by Kwon Hae-kyung, a jiu-jitsu practical instructor at the Kookmin University Lifelong Education Center, focused on basic self-defense techniques and escape methods. The Fireflies volunteers learned through demonstrations and practical exercises how to escape when pinned under an opponent or when their wrist is grabbed, how to protect vital points, and techniques to buy time for escape.

The district will conduct a second session of training on the 15th of this month for Fireflies volunteers who missed the first session. Additionally, self-defense items such as defense spray and police whistles will be provided to the volunteers.

Starting this month, Seocho-gu has begun “Forest Path Guardians” patrol activities to monitor various walking and hiking trails in the area and plans to install additional closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) in parks, hiking trails, and riversides for crime prevention.

Moreover, the “Safe Return Fireflies” program is operated with the largest scale among Seoul’s autonomous districts, with 50 volunteers, and return monitoring is conducted through the “Ansim-i App.” The district is also promoting projects to build a dense local safety network, including expanding intelligent CCTV for abnormal behavior monitoring, supporting installation of security facilities for single-person households through the “Seoripul Bodyguard” project, and strengthening patrols by Seoripul Guardian Angels and autonomous crime prevention squads.

Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, stated, “We will prioritize the safety of residents and work together with local residents and related organizations to create a living environment where all residents can feel safe.”

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