Guests take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the Dogeun village senior center in Hwaseo-ri, Sinnyeong-myeon, on Saturday. [Yeongcheon City]
Guests take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the Dogeun village senior center in Hwaseo-ri, Sinnyeong-myeon, on Saturday. [Yeongcheon City]

The Dogeun Village Senior Association in Hwaseo-ri, Sinnyeong-myeon, Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, held an opening ceremony Saturday to mark the completion of a new senior center — a long-sought project for local residents.

About 100 people attended, including Yeongcheon Mayor Kim Byeong-sam, city council members and former residents who had moved away. The event was scheduled to avoid the busy farming season.

Dogeun village is a small community of 18 households located about 2 kilometers from the main Hwaseo-ri settlement. Residents who wanted to use the existing senior center in the main village had to travel along a two-lane road with no sidewalk, making the journey hazardous. Having a dedicated senior center had long been a community priority.

To address the inconvenience, the city selected the construction of a new senior center under a 2023 rural living environment improvement project, committing 326 million won ($240,000) in municipal funds to build the facility at a sunny spot at the village entrance.

Construction began in October 2024 and was completed in August 2025, but a delay in obtaining barrier-free living environment certification pushed back the building-use approval to March 2026, after which the center began operating.

At the ceremony, the Dogeun Village Senior Association donated 500,000 won in scholarship funds to the Yeongcheon City Scholarship Foundation, adding a spirit of giving to the occasion.

"I sincerely congratulate the opening of this community gathering place, a long-cherished wish of Dogeun village in Hwaseo-ri, Sinnyeong-myeon," Mayor Kim said.


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