Bupyeong-gu's '500 Steps for Women's Safety' Chooses Effectiveness Over Murals... Chairperson Kang Yeon-sook Urges 'Thorough Aftercare'

Concerns have been raised that the '500 Steps Project', aimed at creating a women-friendly city in Bupyeong-gu, should move away from performative administration and focus on securing actual safety and aftercare.

During the 4th Administrative Welfare Committee meeting of the 274th Bupyeong-gu Council held on the 2nd, Chairperson Kang Yeon-sook (People Power Party·Proportional) pointed out in a major work report from the Women and Family Department that "while murals may look aesthetically pleasing at the time of creation, over time, poorly maintained murals can actually damage the urban landscape and become risk factors," calling for a change in the project's approach.

The '500 Steps Project' aims to create a safe route (approximately 500 steps) for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly to return home from bus stops. Each year, about 50 million won is allocated per location to improve lighting in dark alleys and enhance the environment.

In her inquiries that day, Chairperson Kang stated, "Looking at past cases, many projects focused on murals, but due to inadequate aftercare, many have been left as eyesores," and emphasized that "the village environmental improvement design study being conducted this year must include measures to prevent such side effects in advance."

In response, the Women and Family Department head explained, "Due to the difficulties in aftercare, we are currently trying to avoid mural projects as much as possible," adding, "Beyond simple aesthetic improvements, we are prioritising areas with high crime rates or densely populated single-women households in consultation with Bupyeong and Samsan Police Stations to implement the project."

Chairperson Kang remarked, "Immediately after environmental improvements, resident satisfaction is high, but if continuous management is not supported, the significance of the project diminishes," urging, "Please focus administrative efforts on creating a pleasant and safe walking environment that residents can feel during this year's project implementation."

Based on the contents of this work report, the district plans to analyse applications from 22 districts and police data to select final candidate sites and to actively promote the creation of safe streets applying environmental design (CPTED).