Gwangju City News

From the Gwangju Metropolitan City Press Release (http://gwangju.go.kr)

▲ Sluice gate installed near the Yongsan Bridge.

Gwangju Metropolitan City is focusing on preventing bad odors arising from the Gwangju Stream by installing sluice gates near the Yongsan Bridge in Dong-gu. Gwangju Stream, running through downtown Gwangju, is used as a leisure spot for Gwangju citizens because of its promenade and bicycle path, but the stench of sewage from some open rainwater rooms near Yongsan Bridge is causing an inconvenience to citizens.

Accordingly, Gwangju City is making efforts to reduce the sewage odor by visiting waterway sites in other cities and provinces that are similar to Gwangju Stream, to check odor prevention facilities and establish maintenance plans. In addition, Dong-gu and Nam-gu plan to reduce sewage odor near Gwangju Stream annually by 2024 by implementing a Smart Sewage Pipeline Project to establish a real-time sewage odor monitoring and automatic control system using information and communication technology (ICT.)

As a result of analyzing the statistics of firefighting activities in Gwangju in the first half of this year, the Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters announced that the number of fire, rescue, and first aid activities increased by 5.4%, 2.1%, and 17.2%, respectively, while the number of daily safety dispatches decreased by 34.2% compared to last year. There were a total of 410 fires, an average of 2.2 cases per day, and the number of casualties was 16, up 33.3% from 12 in 2021. Property damage was 1.62 billion won, down 75.9% from 6.74 billion won in the previous year.

As factor in the increase in the number of fires is due to increased social activities following the relaxation of social distancing due to COVID-19. Non-residential locations such as restaurants and industrial facilities accounted for the largest number of fires with 164 cases (40%), followed by negligence in 214 cases (52.2%), electrical factors in 84 cases (20.5%), and mechanical factors in 40 cases (9.8%). A total of 3719 rescue operations were carried out, an average of 20.5 rescue operations per day, which is an increase of 75 cases (2.1%) from the same period last year.

In particular, 1,103 confirmed cases related to COVID-19 were transferred, and a total of 2,764 people, including 1601 suspected cases of high fever and cough, and 60 vaccinated patients, were transferred to hospitals and quarantine facilities.

The Single-Parent Family Housework Support Service, promoted by Gwangju Metropolitan City, has been shown to be well received by single-parent families. As a result of an online survey conducted in July for the households who used the single-parent family support service in the first half of this year, City Hall announced that 97% of users said they were satisfied with the service.

In this survey, where 65 out of 73 users responded, 97% of the respondents said that housekeeping services helped improve their homelife and that they were satisfied with the methods and procedures for using the service. As for the things that improved from using the housework support service, they felt more relaxed because their house was clean, so there was less stress at home and their quality of life improved. They also found that with a cleaner house, they could deal more positively with their children, thus all are happier.

In order to alleviate the difficulties of single-parent families where the parent has to take responsibility for housework and childcare as well as work to support the family, City Hall conducted a pilot project for 20 households last year, and then expanded it to 100 households this year.

The target of support is (a) single-parent families raising children under the age of 18 with less than 120% of median income* and (b) the sole parent is working or studying, or is ill or has a disability. The service provides support for housekeeping service fees (within 45,000 won per session) used through a private domestic helper platform, and each household can receive support of up to 1.6 million won throughout the year.

*Median income of 120% or less: 3,912,100 won per month for a two-person household, or 5,033,640 won per month for a three-person household.

o Applications and inquiries concerning support services are accepted at the Nam-gu Family Center. Phone: (070-42046314). Gwangju Dong-gu (East District) News

The 2022 Korea Regional Book Fair in Gwangju Dong-gu, a great festival for local books in Korea, will be held at Purun-gil (Green Road) Park during September. The Korea Regional Book Fair is an event held every year by the Korean Regional Publishing Association and local governments across the nation to highlight the value and meaning of local publishing, which records local culture and discovers local contents.

The 2022 Gwangju Dong-gu Korea Regional Book Fair, which started in Jeju in 2017 and is celebrating its sixth fair this year, will be held from September 30 to October 2 under the theme of “Regions and Books, Caring for Each Other.” It will be held as a fun humanities festival where citizens will communicate naturally with books.

The main program is an exhibition by the winners of the Thousand Readers Awards, which are awards of prize money prepared by 1,000 readers who support local publications, the Exhibition of National Publications and Magazines, and the Special Exhibition of the Host City. The book fair provides opportunities to enjoy a variety of book-related events, including author book talks, a book market, and a bookmaking experience.

Inquiries: Humanities Urban Policy Division, Dong-gu. Phone: 062-608-2193