About 100 merchants and residents near Sillim Station take part, splitting into three teams to clean streets, clear storm drains and collect cigarette butts
"Creating clean and pleasant streets is an important task that all of us must work on together."
Those were the words of Gwanak-gu District Mayor Park Jun-hee as Park took part in the "Sillim-dong Environmental Improvement Practice Campaign," urging residents to sustain their interest in and commitment to keeping the neighborhood clean.
On Friday, Gwanak-gu launched its "Clean Streets, Pleasant Sillim" initiative to raise cleanliness standards around Sillim Station — a high-traffic commercial hub centered on the subway station — and to foster a culture of voluntary cleanliness among residents.
About 100 merchants and residents from the Sillim-dong, Sinwon-dong and Seowon-dong merchant associations near Sillim Station took part in the campaign. Divided into three teams, participants cleaned major streets and alleyways around the station to improve the pedestrian environment.
District Mayor Park joined residents in clearing storm drains and picking up cigarette butts, and also observed a demonstration of a road-sweeping machine and inspected cleanup operations on site.
The district said it plans to use the campaign as a springboard to spread a culture of cleanliness shared by residents, merchants and local government alike, encouraging proper waste disposal and recycling in daily life to create a more pleasant living environment.
Meanwhile, the district has held monthly "resident-led general cleanups" since 2022, working with residents across all 21 neighborhoods in Gwanak-gu to clear illegal dumping hotspots and major pedestrian routes.
The district is also actively pursuing community-focused waste management policies, including the distribution of dedicated recycling bags, expansion of recycling collection stations and free installation of RFID food-waste volume-rate meters for small residential facilities.
These efforts have cut household waste generation by about 11 percent compared with 2022. The district has also been recognized for its waste management performance, earning the Seoul Metropolitan Government's top recycling award for two consecutive years.
"Clean streets are not made by administrative effort alone — they are the sum of every resident's attention and action," District Mayor Park said. "I hope this campaign helps transform the area around Sillim Station into an even cleaner and more pleasant space, and we will continue working with residents to build a cleaner Gwanak-gu."
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