Unused spaces transformed into cafes, restaurants and welfare service workplaces; community-centered model for older residents earns top honors in livelihood stability category
Seoul's Seongbuk-gu took the excellence award in the livelihood stability category at the 22nd Korea Local Government Management Awards, receiving a commendation from the Minister of Interior and Safety.
The winning project, titled "Working with the Community in Old Age: Seongbuk-gu's Senior Co-prosperity Employment Model," was recognized for providing older residents with jobs and income that draw on their experience and skills, while also converting idle spaces into assets that benefit local commerce and residents.
Seongbuk-gu has steadily pursued a program to transform unused or dilapidated spaces into workplaces for senior residents. A run-down senior center was remodeled into a multigenerational book cafe called Haengbok Deoham New Senior Center, while a vacant stall in a traditional market was turned into a community restaurant serving gukbap, a Korean beef-and-rice soup.
A former police substation was converted into Hanolhanol Bongjedan, a welfare service space offering laundry and mending. Eobu-ba Coffee Garden, opened in partnership with Jeongneung Credit Union and Seongbuk Senior Club, is run directly by older residents who hold barista certificates.
Community-oriented jobs are also in operation. The Senior Center Care Guard supports facility inspections and digital education at senior centers, while the Pedestrian Information Collector program gathers data needed to improve walking environments from the perspective of mobility-impaired residents.
According to the district, the number of senior jobs in Seongbuk-gu expanded to 5,003 in 2026, growing at an average annual rate of 13 percent. The share of productive jobs also rose from 20 percent in 2023 to 27 percent in 2026.
"We have turned idle spaces into workplaces and hubs of community vitality so that older residents can share the experience and skills they have built over their lives with the community while also earning an income," Seongbuk-gu District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said. "We will continue to expand a sustainable employment model that improves both the lives of older residents and the local economy."
Seongbuk-gu has also posted consecutive results in the senior employment and social activity support project evaluations run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute. Gireum Comprehensive Social Welfare Center was named an outstanding institution for the third consecutive year in the multiple-type category. Seongbuk Senior Comprehensive Welfare Center was also named an outstanding institution in 2026, and Seongbuk Senior Club received a special award in the job placement category. The Pedestrian Information Collector project team was selected as an outstanding senior employment model in 2025.
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