Songpa-gu Geoyeo 1-dong Single-Person Household Hope Finding Project Focused on 'Oechul'

Geoyeo 1-dong, Dong-specialized Project 'Living Loving Myself' Focuses on Repeated Outings... Overcoming Isolation and Restoring Relationships through Making Lunchboxes with Neighbors, Laughter Therapy, Horticultural Therapy, etc.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) is implementing the ‘Living by Loving Myself’ program targeting socially isolated middle-aged and vulnerable single-person households in Geoyeo 1-dong.

Among single-person households, middle-aged vulnerable groups often face complex issues such as social disconnection, isolation due to job loss or business failure, accumulated feelings of loss, and deteriorating health, enduring difficulties alone.

In Geoyeo 1-dong, the average age is 46.4 years, about 4 years higher than Songpa-gu’s average age of 42.1 years, and nearly half of the total households (5,537) are single-person households (2,181), which led to the launch of this program.

The ‘Living by Loving Myself’ program is operated in cooperation with the Songpa-gu Family Center. It is held from October 12 to November 2 in the lecture room on the 2nd floor of the Dong Resident Center, targeting middle-aged single-person households aged 50 to 64.

The district placed significance on helping middle-aged single-person households, who often experience severe social isolation, to go outside their residences first. The program is designed so that the same participants attend all three sessions repeatedly to restore relationships and engage in activities in a comfortable atmosphere. Participants receive classes such as ▲Making My Own Character Lunchbox (photo) ▲Laughter Therapy for a Happy Me ▲Healing Flower Basket Horticultural Therapy.

Among the participants, Mr. Lee (60) shared his thoughts after the first program: “I felt awkward meeting strangers and considered going back home several times on the way here, but once I participated, making the lunchbox and chatting made me feel like I returned to my childhood for a moment, which was refreshing.”

After the final class, the district plans to conduct education and counseling in the housing sector, including rental housing, which participants are highly interested in, in collaboration with the Songpa Housing Safety Comprehensive Center.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “We will continue to promote customized services for single-person households centered on the Dong Resident Center, which provides administrative services closest to residents’ daily lives,” and added, “We will actively support residents who are in difficult and lonely situations to overcome isolation and live with a sense of belonging in the local community.”

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