Gwangjin-gu Opens Achasan Forest Playground
Published 24 May.2022 07:15(KST)
[Seoul District News] Gwangjin-gu Actively Reflects Children's Opinions to Create Forest 'Treehouse' Concept; 'Achasan Forest Library' Opening Late June Expected as Family Outing Spot... Geumcheon-gu Publishes Child-Friendly City Survey Research Report
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu has opened the ‘Achasan Forest Playground’ this month, a place where creativity and imagination grow just by playing joyfully, and introduced it to residents.
The district renovated the old children's playground behind the Achasan Management Office into a forest playground, providing a space where children who find it difficult to play in the city can freely enjoy nature by touching the soil and running between trees.
In particular, from the early stages of creating the Achasan Forest Playground, a survey was conducted among local elementary school students about their favorite play facilities, and the results were actively reflected.
As a result, the Achasan Forest Playground was created as a customized playground unique to Achasan, departing from typical play facilities, featuring hammocks, cloud ladders, slides, and other play equipment that embody children's joyful imaginations.
The playground features a combination play structure reminiscent of a treehouse, situated among the long-stretched pine forest. Made of wood, the combination play structure includes stairs leading up to slides, cloud bridges, and net-shaped climbing nets, stimulating curiosity about a forest hideout that everyone dreams of in childhood.
Near the combination play structure, there is a trampoline where children can jump excitedly with friends, climbing poles to build strength, hammocks where children can lie down and look at the sky, and an eco-friendly sand playground known as the Sparrow Playground.
Additionally, the district created the forest playground as an eco-friendly playground filled with wood and sand, paying extra attention to ensure children can play safely and healthily.
Through the opening of this forest playground, Gwangjin-gu expects that more residents, from children to adults, will be able to enjoy the great joy that nature offers, including culture, rest, and fun at Achasan.
Moreover, the ‘Achasan Forest Library,’ scheduled to open at the end of June, will provide residents with a healing complex space where they can experience various aspects of Achasan, together with the nearby ‘Achasan Forest Playground,’ ‘Achasan Harmony Plaza,’ and ‘Achasan Companion Forest Trail.’
Geumcheon-gu announced that it has conducted a Child-Friendly Index survey to create a child-friendly city where children are happy and respected, and published a report analyzing the results.
The Child-Friendly Index survey is conducted using a standard questionnaire designated by UNICEF, targeting children, guardians, and those related to children, and the results are analyzed.
The survey covers six areas of child-friendliness: ▲Play and Leisure ▲Participation and Citizenship ▲Safety and Protection ▲Health and Social Services ▲Educational Environment ▲Residential Environment.
The survey was conducted online from December 6 to 26 last year, with a total of 1,749 participants.
The overall average score for the six areas of child-friendliness was 2.43 on a 3-point scale. Residential environment scored the highest at 2.87, while participation and citizenship scored the lowest at 2.01. Compared to the first Child-Friendly Index survey conducted in 2018, the overall average increased from 2.39 to 2.43, showing improvement in all areas except play and leisure.
This indicates that since Geumcheon-gu was certified as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City in 2019, the awareness of child-friendliness in the local community has increased.
Based on the results of this Child-Friendly Index survey, Geumcheon-gu plans to hold a residents’ forum to gather opinions and establish specific strategies for creating a child-friendly city that promotes children's rights.
The research report on the Child-Friendly Index survey conducted by Geumcheon-gu is available to anyone on the Geumcheon-gu Office website under ‘E-Gotgan.’
Yoon Jeong-hee, head of the Child and Youth Division, said, "The Child-Friendly Index survey is very meaningful as it identifies the current status of children's rights in Geumcheon-gu and allows the opinions of children and guardians to be reflected in policies," adding, "We will continue to strive to make Geumcheon-gu a happy place for children through child-friendly policies that realize children's rights."
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