Gyeonggi Province Shared Facilities Now Available for Online Search and Booking of Gymnasiums and Auditoriums

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Starting January 6, the online reservation service 'Gyeonggi Sharing Service' has launched, allowing residents to search for shared facilities such as sports facilities and event venues/auditoriums in Gyeonggi Province online and make bookings and payments.

The Gyeonggi Sharing Service (share.gg.go.kr) has 307 facilities registered, including meeting rooms, sports facilities, event venues/auditoriums, lecture halls, and sports fields operated by the province and Gyeonggi Province public institutions, and plans to expand to register all facilities opened by Gyeonggi Province.

The Gyeonggi Sharing Service provides fast booking services that allow residents to conveniently search and reserve shared facilities by selecting region and resource category, and provides facility locations based on a map to show users which facilities are closest to their current location.

Additionally, it provides 360° VR (virtual reality) panoramic video service for the first time nationwide, allowing users to check facilities without visiting in person beforehand.

The service supports responsive web design so that identical services can be used on mobile devices and tablets.

Usage is mostly free, and some event venues at public institutions can be used at prices 20-30% lower than market rates.

In addition, services are provided for program information on events held in Gyeonggi Province and for applying and confirming resident gardens.

Previously, using publicly open resources required inconveniently calling or visiting individual institutions.

Going forward, residents will be able to conveniently use shared facilities by searching for desired public facilities through the Gyeonggi Sharing Service based on an online map and making reservations.

The province plans to expand the service to include shared facilities held by 31 cities and counties by the end of this year, providing a service where all shared facilities in Gyeonggi Province can be searched and booked at once.

This measure was made following a proposal by Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who stated at an expanded executive meeting in March 2019, "Building many public facilities is important, but using existing facilities helps residents' welfare without additional budgets," and urged "Please open many facilities managed by the province and its subordinate public institutions so they can be used as meeting spaces, event venues, etc."

Huh Seung-beom, Policy Planning Officer of Gyeonggi Province, said, "By returning public facilities created with residents' tax money to residents, we expect an increase in resident convenience and resource utilization," and added "Currently, many facilities cannot be used due to COVID-19, but after COVID-19 passes, we will continue to expand public facilities so they can be used more for residents."

Meanwhile, most facilities such as sports facilities are currently closed due to COVID-19 social distancing level 2.5 quarantine measures, but some are available for business events or meetings.

Each institution is adhering to social distancing by limiting spaces that could accommodate 50-100 people to 20 people, so inquiries must be made with the relevant institution before making a reservation.