The district of Seongbuk in Seoul held a ‘Children’s Report Meeting – Talk Talk Forum’ at the Seongbuk Art Hall on the 4th floor of the Seongbuk-gu Office on the 6th.
The event was attended by over 50 children and teenagers from 3rd grade elementary school to 3rd grade high school, who were invited through public recruitment and recommendations from children’s and youth participation organizations.
This event was organized to report the key findings of research projects for establishing a four-year plan (2026-2027) for Seongbuk-gu as a children-friendly city, and to hear the opinions of child representatives.
The event was divided into two parts. In the first part, the standard survey of a children-friendly city and the results of citizen opinion gathering were shared with an OX quiz on Seongbuk-gu’s current children-friendly policy projects. In the second part, participants were divided into six groups to discuss and present ideas on what they wish to see in Seongbuk-gu.
From March to June, Seongbuk-gu conducted a standard survey of a children-friendly city and collected opinions from 1,685 residents, gathering a total of 1,256 responses. Among the respondents, 70% or 1,178 were children, with a strong emphasis on reflecting the voices of children and youth.
The main opinions included a demand for study café spaces where children and teenagers can study together, a clear distinction between smoking and non-smoking areas, and the need to resolve safety issues caused by the indiscriminate parking of shared electric scooters and bicycles on streets.
Seongbuk-gu plans to incorporate the opinions presented at this report meeting into its four-year strategy for a children-friendly city.
Seongbuk-gu Mayor Lee Seung-ro said, “We will actively reflect the opinions of children and teenagers to make Seongbuk-gu a comfortable and happy place for children to grow up.” He added, “As the first municipality in Korea to be certified as a UNICEF children-friendly city in 2013, and with the only fourth certification in the country pending for 2026, we will do our best to promote children’s rights and create a children-friendly environment.”