The district earned an A rating — the highest available — in the Ministry of Science and ICT's Smart Village Dissemination and Expansion Project, securing 1.14 billion won in national funding. It is the only autonomous district in Seoul to have two projects selected, covering an autonomous-driving public-service robot system and an AI digital experience playground for children.
Dongjak-gu has been selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's Smart Village Dissemination and Expansion Project, securing 1.14 billion won ($842,000) in national funding, the district office announced.
The Smart Village Dissemination and Expansion Project aims to improve residents' quality of life and address local challenges through the application of digital technology.
Dongjak-gu earned an A rating — the highest available — and is the only autonomous district in Seoul to have two separate projects selected under the program.
The two selected projects are a public-service robot system built on autonomous driving technology and an AI-based digital experience playground for local children.
The first project focuses on building a multipurpose autonomous-driving robot system for public services, developing and operating robots for park patrol and disinfection as well as snow removal and welfare-supply delivery.
The park patrol and disinfection robots will be equipped with CCTV cameras to broadcast warnings against rule violations inside parks, and will carry and spray disinfectant for nighttime sanitation operations.
The snow-removal and welfare-delivery robots will be linked to weather forecasts to spread snow-melting agents and transport welfare supplies to recipients at designated destinations.
This year, the district plans to refine and finalize its implementation plan and develop detailed task specifications, drawing on consulting from the National Information Society Agency (NIA), technical advice from robot-industry certified companies, and guidance from university industry-academic cooperation teams within the district.
The second project, an AI-based digital experience playground for local children, will introduce humanoid robots (Pibo), quadruped robots and Go-playing robots at local children's centers and Kium Centers, creating hands-on digital technology spaces for children.
The spaces will offer interactive, play-based digital programs as well as university student mentoring sessions using AI tutor devices, supporting children's psychological counseling and learning.
The district plans to align the projects with AI-driven administration — one of District Mayor Ryu Sam-young's key campaign pledges — and to expand services that integrate advanced technologies such as AI and robots into both public administration and residents' daily lives.
Meanwhile, Dongjak-gu has been broadening residents' access to smart technology through a Smart Robot and AI Digital Learning Experience Zone on the first below-ground floor of the district office, which hosts a Robot Experience Campus for families and a Future Tech Playground for elementary school students.
"These projects are meaningful not simply because they showcase cutting-edge technology, but because they apply it directly to residents' lives," District Mayor Ryu Sam-young said. "We will continue to identify and develop services that integrate digital technology so that robots and AI can enhance residents' convenience and offer children new experiences."
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