Innovative 'Gangbuk-gu Villa Management Office' Changing Perceptions of Villa Neighborhoods

Innovation Achieved with an Annual Budget of 77.96 Million Won
Mia, Songjung-dong, Suyu 2-dong, and Others Also Starting from July
District Mayor Lee Sun-hee "Plan to Expand Throughout Gangbuk-gu"

Hansangmok, who works as a villa management office manager, is explaining his manager duties in front of the office installed at Saetgang Children's Park in Beon 1-dong. Mr. Han patrols and cleans by riding a three-wheeled bicycle directly made in Gangbuk-gu. Photo by Minjin Kim enter@

Han Sang-mok (59), who has been working as a villa management office manager for 1 year and 2 months, is responsible for six neighborhoods around 458-463 and 472 Beonji, Beon 1-dong, Gangbuk-gu. Han, a resident of Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, starts his workday at Saetgang Children's Park. Arriving at the park's portable building, he changes into his work uniform and immediately begins patrol and cleaning duties.

After completing the first round of cleaning in the area on a 2-hour course, the volume-based waste bag on the back seat of his three-wheeled bicycle is half full of trash. The areas he cleans include alleys and common areas of villas (multi-family housing).

When met at the park on the 10th, Han said, "My main job is to clean up illegally dumped trash in alleys and villa common areas and to clean the alleys around multi-family housing," adding, "I also perform facility maintenance of public facilities and patrol for living safety." In case of disasters or emergencies, he informs the situation, and he also supports guidance on illegal parking and requests enforcement from the relevant departments.

Han, who starts work at 12:30 PM, finishes his rounds and leaves work at 6 PM. The managers are three fixed-term workers who share duties from 7 AM to 6 PM on weekdays and from 8 AM to 5 PM on weekends.

Jung So-yeon, head of the Housing Division at Gangbuk-gu Office and the person in charge of the villa management office work, explained, "By frequently cleaning alleys and in front of villas, a virtuous cycle has occurred where illegal dumping of trash has noticeably decreased," and added, "We are also considering linking and expanding this with other district office projects, such as repairing facilities for elderly single-person households living in aging housing, by utilizing active communication between local residents and managers."

Gangbuk-gu first launched the villa management office pilot project in March last year. The villa management office is a project actively promoted with strong determination by Gangbuk-gu Mayor Lee Soon-hee since her inauguration in July 2022.

Gangbuk-gu plans to expand the Villa Management Office project throughout the district. Photo of Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, at the Villa Management Office opening ceremony in May last year. Provided by Gangbuk-gu Office.

Gangbuk-gu is known as one of the areas in Seoul with many villas. Villas are a residential type with relatively low housing costs, mainly inhabited by newlyweds and working-class families. However, since there is no separate management entity, issues such as cleaning, facility management, parking, and safety have always existed.

Mayor Lee, having lived in Gangbuk-gu for over 30 years and knowing the local situation better than anyone, had this project on her agenda even before becoming mayor. To promote the villa management office pilot project, Gangbuk-gu revised related ordinances and accepted applications for participation from local residents. They began supporting management tasks similar to those of apartment management offices through managers directly hired by the district office.

In the pilot area of Beon 1-dong, where 68 buildings and about 700 households reside, an annual budget of 77.96 million KRW, including labor costs, was invested. The results were a great success. A resident satisfaction survey conducted six months after the project started in September last year showed that "94% were satisfied, and 88% requested the project to be expanded."

As a result, Gangbuk-gu decided to implement the villa management office project in two additional areas?Mia-dong 258 Beonji area including Mia and Songjung-dong, and Suyu 2-dong?through an expansion operation contest in July this year. Mia and Songjung-dong (150,000㎡) include 402 buildings with about 2,700 households, and Suyu 2-dong (260,000㎡) includes 304 buildings with about 3,000 households within the project scope.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, "Even if people live in villas, we started the villa management office project to provide a sense of stability and comfort similar to apartment management, improving quality of life and increasing attachment to the community," adding, "We plan to expand this project throughout Gangbuk-gu."

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