Gwangju Gwangsan-gu Wins Excellence Award for '1313 Neighbor Care' Policy

Preventing Social Isolation Through a Resident-Participatory Care Model

The '1313 Neighbor Care' policy promoted by Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, received the Excellence Award at the 2nd Local Administration Innovation Awards hosted by the Korean Association for Local Government Studies.

Exterior view of Gwangsan District Office in Gwangju.

According to Gwangsan-gu on the 25th, '1313' is a model in which one person looks after three generations of crisis households, and each crisis household is connected to three neighboring companions for care. The core of the policy is to establish a resident-participatory safety net to prevent social isolation and lonely deaths.

Since 2023, the district has carried out the project in cooperation with the Community Social Security Council, welfare centers, and senior clubs. After achieving results in 12 neighborhoods last year, the project was expanded to 21 neighborhoods this year. Currently, about 130 residents are active as 'Neighbor Guardians.'

Park Byungkyu, the head of the district office, said, "The '1313 Neighbor Care' policy, where neighbors look after each other, has once again established itself as a representative welfare policy of Gwangju," and added, "We will continue our efforts to build a more thorough care system and realize a warm community."

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