Gwangju City News

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

Gwangju City Promotes Business Opportunities for People with Developmental Disabilities

Gwangju City announced on the 14th of September that a specialized workplace called “Gachimandeuso” (가치만드소) has opened in Gwangsan-gu with the aim of supporting families with developmental disabilities to establish businesses in the area.

About 50 people attended the Gachimandeuso opening ceremony, including Mayor Kang Ki-jung, National Assemblyman Lee Yong-bin, Director of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups Lee Dae-hee, Gwangsan-gu District Mayor Park Byung-kyu, Chairman of the Disabled Enterprise Business Center Seo Ki-young, City Council Vice Chairman Lee Gwi-soon, and City Council Operation Director Kang Soo-hoon.

Gachimandeuso is a project being promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to support job creation and economic independence for people with developmental disabilities and their families through mentoring in areas such as startup education, technology development support, moving into entrepreneurs’ activity room, advising, counseling, and providing various promotional support.

Gachimandeuso in Gwangju has indoor smart farm facilities covering 330 square meters two floors above ground. The main plant being cultivated, frilled ice lettuce, is expected to be produced in a quantity of 17 tons per year, generating sales worth 90 million won.

From now on, five families consisting of developmentally impairment people and their parents will each enroll a business operator to create a producer cooperative and receive profits for two years.

Gwangju City Provides Assistance Services for the Safety of Single-person Households under Jeonse or Wolse Contracts

Gwangju City announced on the 29th of September that starting in October, it would provide helpful services for single-person households to help stabilize the housing market and relieve housing anxiety for those with jeonse (deposit-based lease) or wolse (monthly rental) contracts.

This assistance service can be used free of charge by anyone regardless of age or gender, if they are a single-person household living or planning to live in Gwangju.

Applications can be submitted by visiting the Real Estate Transaction Counseling Center, which

runs from 2–6 p.m. every Wednesday, or through the Land Information Division (062-613-5658).

Applicants who wish to be accompanied by experts while they look for a house can choose one or two places to live in advance, discuss the schedule with a counselor who is a certified broker, visit the site together to check the homes, and get help in the process of writing a jeonse or wolse contract.

According to data from Statistics Korea and a survey of single-person households in Gwangju in 2020, there are 194,000 single-person households in Gwangju, accounting for 32.4 percent of total households. Among them, the ratio of jeonse and wolse living arrangements was 64.9 percent, higher than that of home ownership (33.5 percent).

With the recent increase in single-person households, various social problems such as “can leases” (a neologism referring to situations where a lessee cannot receive the deposit back from a lessor even though the jeonse contract is finished), illegal building leases, and double contracts are also emerging.

Based on the above situations, Gwangju City expects that the provision of helpful services for jeonse and wolse single-person households and the Real Estate Transaction Counseling Center for citizen will help to establish stable housing for first-timers and single-person elderly households which have difficulties accessing real estate information.

Gwangju City has operated the Real Estate Transaction Counseling Center to help all residents since 2014 and has been giving consultations and legal advice on real estate transactions, precautions for transactions, and countermeasures against disputes.

Gwangju Dong-gu (East District) News “Landmark of Gwangju!” High Interest in the “Fountain of Light”

As the May 18 Democratic Square’s “Fountain of Light” has gone viral on SNS in the four months since its opening, it is receiving high levels of attention from both residents of Gwangju and tourists from other regions.

Since its opening on June 10, the “Fountain of Light” has surpassed 20,000 cumulative visitors, with an average of 500 visitors and up to 1,000 visitors per day.

As interest in the “Fountain of Light” increases, the number of visitors waiting before 8:15 every Friday and Saturday is increasing. Accordingly, Dong-gu organized the “Busking of Light” event every Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to provide attractions for visitors who are waiting for the “Fountain of Light” media artwork until late.

After the screening of media artwork, a photo zone is operated to allow visitors to take pictures, with the background of “Fountain of Light” from 8:40–9:00 p.m., and one of the three works is presented by sequentially changing the works of overseas artists from places like China, Japan, Germany, and Myanmar.

Through candlelight videos that react to the voices of Gwangju’s residents and visitors, messages speaking to Gwangju’s connection to democracy, peace, and human rights are delivered.