District set up a dedicated division and launched pilot projects ahead of new legislation, earning recognition for its proactive integrated care system. Public-private-academic partnerships have strengthened community-centered care through health leader training and collaborative forums.
Seoul's Nowon-gu has won the grand prize — the Minister of Health and Welfare Award — at the "Excellence in Integrated Care" awards, held as a side event of the 2026 Korea-Japan Senior Forum, in recognition of its efforts to build a community-centered integrated care system and deliver resident-tailored services.
The award reflects high marks for the district's proactive work in establishing an integrated care framework suited to local conditions — including creating a dedicated organizational unit and running pilot projects — ahead of the enforcement of legislation on integrated community support for medical care and long-term care.
Nowon-gu has the third-largest population of residents aged 65 and older among Seoul's 25 autonomous districts, and the second-largest number of registered people with disabilities. The district also has roughly 24,000 residents identified as priority candidates for integrated care outreach, reflecting high and complex demand for support spanning medical care, long-term care, housing and daily living assistance.
In response, the district has steadily built an integrated care foundation to help residents who need support continue living healthy, stable lives in their own homes and neighborhoods.
In July 2025, the district formed a dedicated integrated care task force to survey local welfare resources, develop operational manuals and draft related ordinances. Starting in October of that year, it ran a pilot program across four administrative neighborhoods, establishing a field-centered operational system covering everything from identifying eligible residents to linking them with services and providing follow-up care.
On Jan. 1 this year, the district established a dedicated division — the Integrated Care Division — organized into four teams. The full program launched in March, and in May the district expanded eligibility to include people with disabilities under 65, allowing a broader range of residents to access integrated care services.
Inter-agency cooperation has also been active. The district's Integrated Care Division, the health center's health promotion division and the Nowon branch of the National Health Insurance Service have held regular monthly or bimonthly coordination meetings since the pilot program last year, discussing resident identification and assessment, health management and service linkage.
The district has also expanded a community care network bringing together public, private and academic partners. Working with Kwangwoon University and the Together Walking Medical Welfare Social Cooperative, it ran training programs to develop community health leaders. The district has focused on spreading a culture of "mutual care" — where residents look out for their neighbors' health and well-being — beyond individual "self-care."
In July, the district hosted an integrated care and case management forum attended by about 200 people, including care workers, health and medical professionals, civil servants, and university and graduate students. The forum provided a platform to share directions for developing community-based integrated care and to discuss ways to strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
The district also provides tailored services that reflect each resident's individual circumstances and needs. These include subsidies for out-of-pocket costs for home visit medical care for residents with limited mobility, support for discharged patients returning to the community, and housing environment improvements — linking medical, long-term care and daily living services. After services are provided, the district conducts regular monitoring to track changes in residents' health and care needs, and has strengthened follow-up management to ensure continued support.
The district plans to further expand cooperation with local medical and welfare institutions and enhance services that reflect residents' living conditions and care needs, with the goal of building an even more comprehensive community-centered integrated care system.
"This award is the fruit of our efforts to carefully attend to the daily lives of each resident who needs care and to build a care system that the whole community shares," Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o said. "We will continue to realize Nowon-style integrated care — organically connecting medical care, long-term care and daily living support so that residents can live with peace of mind in the familiar homes and neighborhoods they know."
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