Jin joins students from Dongwon Elementary School to make rice cakes, then delivers them to a senior lounge at Deungchon 7 complex
"Hello, everyone! Your district mayor is here — with songpyeon delivery!"
Gangseo-gu District Mayor Jin Kyo-hoon joined students from Dongwon Elementary School on Friday in a community sharing event ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
Jin took part in the "Shape It with Youth! Share the Joy!" event held at a shared kitchen on the second floor of the Deungchon 3-dong community center, where he hand-shaped songpyeon rice cakes to be given to elderly residents. He carefully filled each cake with a variety of ingredients — mung beans, soybeans, sesame seeds and sugar — then helped package them alongside seasonal fruit before personally delivering the gifts.
Jin and the students visited the senior lounge at Deungchon 7 complex, where they presented care packages filled with the rice cakes they had made.
One elderly resident who received the songpyeon was visibly moved. "I feel like I could cry. I will enjoy these with a grateful heart," she said.
Lee Seo-ha, a fifth-grader at Dongwon Elementary School who took part in the event, said making the rice cakes with friends made the experience all the more memorable. "Seeing how happy the grandparents were made me feel so proud," she said.
The event was organized by the Deungchon 3-dong Youth Guidance Committee to foster a spirit of community and neighborly care ahead of Chuseok.
"The shapes may be a little rough around the edges — these were made by small, earnest hands — but every one of them is filled with sincerity and love," Jin said. "I hope our elders enjoy the songpyeon these students prepared and stay in good health."
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