Seodaemun-gu has launched a program called "Healthy Table, One Meal Connecting Seodaemun" to promote nutritious eating habits and social interaction among young residents living alone.
The initiative is a social dining program that brings together young single-person households in the district to cook, share meals and build personal connections.
Sessions are held at the Seodaemun-gu Single-Person Household Support Center (244 Jeunggaro, first floor). A total of 66 young residents will take part in both regular and special programs — each running three rounds — through the end of the year.
The program covers basic cooking skills, preparing home-style meals with fresh ingredients, and a healthy-eating challenge series. Participants naturally strike up conversations during the cooking process, helping them grow closer.
The regular program consists of four two-hour sessions per round and runs three times through November. On July 4, the 12 participants in the first regular cohort kicked off the program by making chogye guksu — a chilled noodle dish popular in summer — and introduced themselves by sharing their hobbies, skills and personal experiences.
The remaining three sessions will feature cold pasta, bibimbap with chilled cucumber soup, and Vietnamese spring rolls. After each program concludes, the district will set up an open online chat room so participants can stay in touch and continue to connect.
The special program gathers 10 participants for a single session and will run three times through December. Sessions are themed around activities such as preparing a birthday feast and cooking photogenic dishes for social media.
To accommodate the varied schedules of working professionals and job seekers living alone, the district has scheduled sessions across weekday mornings, evenings and weekends.
"It was more than just cooking and eating a meal together — sitting around the table and sharing stories from our solo lives felt genuinely healing," one participant said.
"The lettuce-growing kit, which lets you grow your own greens at home, was the perfect gift for single-person households like me who care about cutting food costs and keeping a plant companion," another participant said.
Seodaemun-gu District Mayor Park Woon-ki said the district would continue to develop a range of programs to help single-person household residents expand their social networks and improve their quality of life within the community.
The Seodaemun-gu Single-Person Household Support Center also runs a range of other initiatives, including a communal dining program for middle-aged and older single-person residents, a warm meal-sharing project, a community-building program for single-person households, and residential environment improvement education.
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