▲ Waste piled up in the yard of the house
On August 21, a house in Gwangcheon-eup, Hongseong-gun, South Chungcheong Province.
Amidst overgrown bushes, plastic boxes, farming materials, and household waste were tangled together, filling the yard to the brim.
Even the path leading to the house was blocked, making access difficult.
After Hongseong-gun and some 20 local volunteers mobilized even a tractor to clear away the waste for three hours, the paths leading to the yard and the house finally revealed themselves.
The waste removed from the household amounted to about 50 tons.
According to Hongseong-gun on August 27, the poor living conditions of this family were identified during a prior home visit by a school teacher, leading to a request for support to the county.
Deciding to step in immediately, the county noted that the family members found it difficult to clean up the house on their own and that young children were also living there.
Consequently, volunteers from "Bal Dallin Bitzaru" (meaning "Broom with Feet"), a housing environment improvement project by the county, stepped forward.
The Hongseong-gun Nanum Volunteer Association, the Gwangcheon-eup Community Security Council, and the Hongseong-gun Family Center participated in the cleaning and organization, while local company Woori Environment supported waste collection and disposal.
"Bal Dallin Bitzaru" is a housing environment improvement project that Hongseong-gun has been promoting since 2024.
It supports vulnerable groups who find it difficult to clean and tidy up their homes on their own due to old age, disabilities, illness, or lethargy by providing cleaning, organization, and waste disposal services.
The process works by having township welfare officers, honorary social welfare officials, and welfare agencies recommend eligible households, after which the county checks the site and decides whether to provide support with the consent of the individuals concerned.
In 2024, the first year of the project, about 70 tons of waste were processed across 17 households, and last year, about 50 tons were cleared from 14 households.
This year, about 75 tons have been processed across 6 households so far.
Over the past three years, the waste collected from a total of 37 households has reached approximately 195 tons.
In particular, the roughly 50 tons removed from this particular household is the largest amount processed from a single home since the project began.
Even after the cleaning, the county plans to continue improving the yard maintenance and living conditions of the household through the Community Security Council and local volunteer groups.
An official from Hongseong-gun said, "Applications from households in need continue to come in," adding, "We will continue to visit sites every month to support vulnerable groups who need housing environment improvements."
(Photo provided by Hongseong-gun, Yonhap News)
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