Gwanak-gu Opens 'Seoul Mind Convenience Store' for Daily Mental Care of Single-Person Households

A Healing and Communication Space Where Any Lonely Resident Can Visit Comfortably and Share Stories Over Ramen
Focusing on Restoring Healthy Lives Through Various Programs Such as Healing Food, Healing Health, and Healing Mind

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) held the opening ceremony of the 'Seoul Mind Convenience Store' on the 28th and officially began its operation.

At the opening ceremony, 50 people including Mayor Park Jun-hee, representatives from sponsoring companies such as Daesang, officials from Seongmin Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, and autonomous committee members of the Mind Convenience Store attended to celebrate the opening of the Seoul Mind Convenience Store.

The Seoul Mind Convenience Store is a core project of the 'Seoul Without Loneliness' policy announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government last October. It is a space where anyone can comfortably come and go like a convenience store whenever they need attention or help, share their stories, and receive helpful information.

Among Seoul's autonomous districts, the Seoul Mind Convenience Store was first established in four districts including Gwanak-gu. Seongmin Comprehensive Social Welfare Center in Gwanak-gu was selected through a public contest, and a communication and counseling space of approximately 72.83㎡ was created on the 6th floor of the institution.

The district plans to operate the space focusing on creating communication and counseling spaces for residents experiencing social isolation and mental difficulties, and providing various healing programs under the vision of 'Better Tomorrow Itdang (堂), Happy Today in Gwanak Together.'

In particular, since the proportion of single-person households in Gwanak-gu is 62.7%, the highest among Seoul's autonomous districts, the district intends to establish this as a third space where residents can share loose solidarity and form a community.

The three main programs consist of ▲Healing Food ▲Healing Health ▲Healing Mind. Detailed projects include ▲Together ▲Mind Tea ▲My Foot Rest Time ▲Healing Drop, all focusing on restoring the healthy lives of residents.

Especially, the Healing Mind program offers systematic psychological support through recovery peer mentoring and on-site counseling by clinical psychologists.

Additionally, the district operates the 'Itdang (堂) Membership' point system, where residents can accumulate points just by visiting the space to increase visitation rates, and forms an 'Autonomous Committee' centered on those recovering from isolation to support sustainable, resident-led operation of the space.

The Seoul Mind Convenience Store in Gwanak-gu provides simple food items that residents can use without burden.

Pulmuone Foods sponsored Seoul Ramen (natural & healthy food), and Daesang sponsored Cheongjeongwon rice noodles and snacks.

The district hopes that the establishment of the Seoul Mind Convenience Store will become an open space where any resident experiencing loneliness and mental difficulties can comfortably visit and share conversations through ramen as a medium.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “I hope the Seoul Mind Convenience Store becomes a healing space where residents suffering from loneliness and mental difficulties can share their hearts, form new relationships, and regain healthy lives,” adding, “We will continue to promote various isolation prevention projects and provide policy support to enhance mental health and strengthen social solidarity.”

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