Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu announced Monday that Jangan 1-dong has launched the "Love-Sharing Laundromat, Heart Care Project," an initiative to help residents with mobility difficulties with their laundry while checking on their wellbeing.
The project was selected under a 2026 autonomous district community program competition and was designed to improve residential hygiene and prevent social isolation among vulnerable groups, including elderly people living alone and single-person households.
Running from July through December, the project serves about 200 vulnerable households two to three times a week. The total budget is 15 million won ($10,200), funded entirely by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
On Monday, the project's first day, District Mayor Choi Dong-min visited the homes of elderly residents living alone, accompanied by Jangan 1-dong residents' autonomy committee members and local volunteers.
Choi checked on the wellbeing and living conditions of a 92-year-old resident living alone who has difficulty moving around, then helped volunteers transport large items such as comforters by vehicle. The collected laundry was washed and dried using machines at the Jangan 1-dong community center before volunteers returned the items to each household.
About 60 local residents — including residents' autonomy committee members and building representatives — are participating as volunteers. During laundry pickup and delivery, they assess each recipient's health and living conditions and, when assistance is needed, notify the community center's welfare team to connect residents with the appropriate services.
Jangan 1-dong plans to strengthen its local care network by consistently continuing laundry support and wellbeing checks through the residents' autonomy committee, civic organizations and the community center, with the aim of identifying neighbors in need before problems escalate.
"Just as important as delivering freshly laundered bedding is asking after residents who live alone and looking into their difficulties," District Mayor Choi said. "We will expand this hands-on, community-based care — where residents and local government visit neighbors together and connect them to the welfare services they need — to every corner of Dongdaemun-gu."
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