Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Seoul wins UN Public Service Awards
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
Seoul City's "Women Friendly City Project" and "Hope-Plus Account" won the U.N. Public Service Awards (UNPSA), winning first place for two consecutive years.
The UNPSA acknowledges excellent public service in professionalism and visibility. The winning policies will be promoted in developing countries for benchmarking.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will attend the ceremony to receive the awards in Barcelona, Spain on Wednesday, which is the U.N. Public Service Day.
The Women Friendly City Project won the first place in the category of "improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public service," while the Hope-Plus Account was ranked second in the category of "improving the delivery of public services."
The Women Friendly City Project takes into account the perspective of women in city administration to enhance the convenience and security of females, from transportation and housing to job creation and childcare.
The Hope-Plus Account project is to help low-income brackets to accumulate assets and become financially independent by depositing a matching amount of money into the accounts of those who meet certain conditions.
Mayor Oh will also visit the Spanish cities of Madrid and Bilbao to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Korean-Spanish diplomatic relations.