Bucheon City Opens 'On Convenience Store' as a Mental Care Space to Alleviate Feelings of Isolation

On August 5, Bucheon City in Gyeonggi Province opened the 'Bucheon On Convenience Store' at the Samjeong General Social Welfare Center and officially launched its initiative to address citizens' feelings of loneliness and isolation.

The 'Bucheon On Convenience Store' has been created as an open space where people can come and go as comfortably as they would at a convenience store, and interact with others. Any Bucheon citizen experiencing loneliness or isolation can use the facility free of charge after completing an on-site application and a self-assessment of mental health. The facility operates on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Going beyond a simple counseling space, the facility includes a 'Healing Zone' for physical and mental relaxation, a 'Dining Zone' designed as a communication space centered around meals, a 'Play Zone' for leisure activities, and a 'Smart Zone' as a digital lounge for information access. The aim is to provide emotional comfort simply through visiting.

Interior view of 'On Convenience Store'. Bucheon City

The city plans to offer more professional and systematic emotional support to citizens through mental care programs targeting young and middle-aged adults and single-person households, as well as psychological counseling services available by reservation.

Through the On Convenience Store, the city intends to gradually implement a variety of welfare programs, including identifying isolated households, addressing gaps in mental health care, and revitalizing the community.

Bucheon Mayor Cho Yongik stated, "I hope this space will help connect various residents, including those living alone, to social networks and allow them to recover a sense of comfort in their daily lives," adding, "We will continue to expand initiatives to prevent social isolation in the future."

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