Seocho-gu in Seoul, led by District Mayor Jeon Seong-su, held a capacity-building training session Thursday at the Seocho-gu Public Health Center's Health Kium Center to wrap up the first half of activities for its "Neighborhood Patrol Unit."
First formed in 2017, the Neighborhood Patrol Unit is a resident-led monitoring group made up of 43 members — including neighborhood association heads and local residents — drawn from 18 administrative districts, with the aim of preventing underage drinking and smoking. This year, the unit held a commissioning ceremony in March to kick off its activities and carried out 216 field visits from April through the second week of July. Members visited convenience stores, supermarkets and other alcohol and tobacco retailers to inform them that selling such products to anyone under 19 is prohibited, promote the obligation to check identification, and verify whether youth protection stickers were properly displayed.
Twenty-nine members attended Thursday's session, where they shared first-half results and reviewed key points and guidance language for field inspections to sharpen their skills. The training also included a hands-on aromatherapy self-care session designed to help members manage the fatigue and stress that come with fieldwork. Participants selected their preferred scents and made their own aroma essence perfumes, learning how stress affects the body, how it can be relieved, and practical ways to apply those techniques in daily life.
Following the training, members completed a follow-up survey on e-cigarette awareness. The district plans to use the results to track shifts in members' understanding of the health risks posed by e-cigarettes and the dangers of youth use, and to build greater attention to preventing minors from being exposed to harmful environments.
To guard against heat-related illness during the summer, the district will suspend the unit's field activities from mid-July through August and resume second-half operations in September. In the second half, the unit will focus inspections on outlets not yet visited and continue informing alcohol and tobacco retailers of the legal prohibition on sales to minors and the requirement to check identification. It will also incorporate members' feedback to improve the efficiency of field activities.
"I hope this training strengthens members' capacity for self-care and serves as an opportunity to further reinforce efforts to prevent underage drinking and smoking," District Mayor Jeon said. "We will continue to do our utmost to shield young people from harmful environments, with resident participation at the core of that effort."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
