Seoul relocates Bukchang mobile worker rest center near Cheonggyecheon

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it has relocated its mobile worker rest center — formerly known as the Hyu Seoul Mobile Worker Bukchang Rest Center — to a new site near Cheonggyecheon, reopening it under the name Hyu Seoul Mobile Worker Cheonggyecheon Rest Center.

Mobile worker rest centers give delivery riders, designated drivers, quick-service couriers and other workers without fixed workplaces a place to rest between jobs and take shelter from seasonal hazards such as heat waves and cold snaps. The city currently operates 30 such centers across Seoul.

The original Bukchang center opened in June 2017 and had served as a rest space for mobile workers in central Seoul. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the facility in August during a heat wave to assess working and rest conditions. The relocation became necessary after the building housing the center was slated for renovation. The new Cheonggyecheon center is on the second floor of Supyogyo Building at 99 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, in a downtown commercial district dense with delivery restaurants and office facilities — a location the city says is convenient for mobile workers across a range of occupations.

The city designed the new space around rest as its primary function, giving workers a more comfortable environment. The Cheonggyecheon center will operate on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., the same hours as before.

The new building, unlike the previous one, is structurally accessible at night, and the city said it plans to explore extending operating hours once budget and other operational conditions allow.