25 projects across three areas — public welfare, resident safety and daily convenience — run Sept. 23–28, covering everything from relief payments for vulnerable residents to autonomous bus service and Chuseok-day clinic hours
Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu will roll out a comprehensive Chuseok response plan from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28 to ensure residents enjoy a safe and warm holiday.
The district has drawn up a 25-project plan organized around three areas: public welfare, resident safety and daily convenience. To respond swiftly to any disasters or accidents that may arise during the holiday period, it will operate a round-the-clock disaster safety operations center alongside dedicated task forces for each area.
On the welfare front, the district will distribute relief payments to basic livelihood recipients and veterans. During the holiday, it will provide special meals to low-income elderly residents and support for children at risk of missing meals, closing care gaps over the break. Working with community partners including the Sahmyook Foundation, the district will also deliver holiday gift packages to near-poverty households and run a wish-fulfillment program. A smart welfare-check system and a neighborhood care team will be mobilized to monitor the safety of socially isolated households.
To ease the burden of holiday price increases, the district will operate a price-stability monitoring center to track the prices of essential goods and check compliance with price-labeling rules. On Sept. 16, a direct-sales market for agricultural and fishery products will open in the plaza in front of the district office, supporting local specialty sales and traditional market activity.
The district is also taking steps to ease travel for holiday commuters. On Wednesday — the first day of the holiday — an autonomous bus will run to help travelers using Cheongnyangni Station and Janghanpyeong Station. Special enforcement teams will also be deployed around Cheongnyangni Station and nearby traditional markets to crack down on illegal parking and late-night unlicensed taxi operations.
Pre-holiday safety inspections and real-time monitoring systems are also in place. Traditional markets, public hygiene businesses, road infrastructure and private construction sites will all undergo advance safety checks ahead of the holiday. In the high-traffic areas around Cheongnyangni Station and Gyeongdong Market, AI-enabled CCTV cameras and an IoT-based crowd-flow analysis system will track density in real time, with the 24-hour disaster safety operations center standing by to respond immediately to any incidents.
Waste management during the holiday has also been carefully planned. All household waste will be collected through Wednesday to keep the holiday atmosphere clean. The period from Thursday to Friday — when contracted waste-collection companies are closed — will be designated a waste-disposal suspension period, with advance public notices going out. A waste management hotline will also operate to handle related complaints promptly.
The district is preparing for potential gaps in medical services as well. On Chuseok Day itself — Thursday — the district health center's first-floor clinic will offer consultations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. A list of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies open during the holiday will be made available through an emergency medical services hotline, which will also handle urgent medical complaints.
Detailed information on waste disposal, traffic conditions, open medical facilities and pharmacies, and other services during the holiday will be available on the Dongdaemun-gu District Office website.
"Chuseok is a meaningful holiday for sharing warmth with our neighbors," Dongdaemun-gu District Mayor Choi Dong-min said. "We will do our utmost to carefully attend to safety, health and daily convenience so that all residents can enjoy a full and worry-free holiday."
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