Forty-eight members of the Woori Dongne Dolbomdan took part in a Friday advanced session of the "Outreach Welfare School," sharing field experiences and building practical skills for engaging with socially isolated residents.
Seocho-gu in Seoul held a capacity-building session of its 2026 Outreach Welfare School on Friday, with 48 members of the Woori Dongne Dolbomdan — a resident-led community care network — gathering at the main auditorium on the second floor of the Seocho-gu District Office.
The session was designed to deepen participants' understanding of residents at risk of dying alone and households experiencing social isolation, and to sharpen their ability to respond effectively in the field.
Led by Oh Young-sik, head of the community consulting firm Umteuda, the workshop centered on the theme "Talking with People Who Are Isolated." Members openly shared communication difficulties they had encountered during their activities and worked together to identify practical strategies they could apply immediately in the field.
The Woori Dongne Dolbomdan has been active since 2018, serving as a cornerstone of the district's community care safety net — a model in which residents look after fellow residents. The group conducts phone and in-person welfare checks at least once a week for about 1,411 socially isolated and vulnerable households, identifying crises early and connecting residents with needed services. Last year alone, members carried out 45,264 welfare checks to keep tabs on neighbors in need of care.
One notable case came last October, when a volunteer checking on a 70-year-old resident in Seocho 1-dong detected a health emergency and swiftly arranged an urgent hospital transfer, followed by medical treatment and emergency welfare assistance — an example of the district's efforts to build a warmer, more connected neighborhood.
The district plans to hold additional training in October covering CPR, first aid and fire safety, equipping care volunteers to respond immediately to emergencies during their rounds and further strengthening the community care safety net.
"The Woori Dongne Dolbomdan are a warm, outstretched hand that regularly checks on neighbors nearby and gently opens the closed hearts of those in need," Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said. "We will continue to provide whatever support is needed in the field so that this vital link connecting neighbor to neighbor can endure."
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