"The essentials inside the package are nice, but I'm even more grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule to visit. It's truly heartwarming to exchange smiles and greetings."
On the 23rd, as we arrived at a residential area in Sasang-gu, Busan, an uphill path so steep that merely looking up made the back of the neck ache stretched out before us. Cutting through sweltering heat of 32℃ and 76% humidity, Shin Eun-cheol, a mail carrier from Sasang Post Office, steadily walked up the slope. The motorcycle loaded with mail had its center of gravity shifted backward, making it prone to tipping over on steep inclines. Large beads of sweat streamed down both cheeks like rain.
After climbing about 50 meters and opening the door of a row house, Kim Kyung-bin (61), who has mobility difficulties, was waiting lying at the doorway. When Mr. Kim tried to rise offering tea, mail carrier Shin gently stopped him. Shin said, "Many users of the Well-being Check Package service have mobility issues," adding, "Asking 'Do you have any pain?' might feel intrusive, so we ask lighter questions like 'Have you eaten?' to check on their well-being."
Next, he visited visually impaired Moon Byeong-geun (49), who opened the door with a bright smile as if he had been waiting. Mr. Moon, who moved in last September, became close with mail carrier Shin before even befriending neighbors. He said, "There aren't many people around to talk to, so every visit is welcome." Mr. Moon even knew all of mail carrier Shin's preferences, including his dislike for coffee.
The reason both Mr. Kim and Mr. Moon could regularly meet with mail carrier Shin was Korea Post's Well-being Check Package service. This program delivers packages containing essentials to vulnerable households while checking on their well-being. It also connects them with relevant welfare benefits. Busan Sasang-gu has operated the Well-being Check Package service for three years. Packages are delivered every second and fourth Wednesday from June to November, totaling 10 visits per year covering 300 households.
After each visit, well-being is confirmed using a checklist composed of three categories: health, housing, and hygiene. Mail carriers can also record any notable observations in free-text fields. Thanks to this effort, Sasang-gu identified a total of 138 at-risk households last year: 80 for health issues, 30 for housing concerns, and 28 for hygiene problems.
The Well-being Check Package service is one of Korea Post's public initiatives designed to utilize idle personnel resulting from declining package volumes. Using its spiderweb-like postal network, it reaches even remote mountainous areas. The cost per delivery is 5,000 won, shared by local governments and the Postal Public Welfare Foundation, with no burden on users. Since 2022 through the first half of this year, Korea Post visited approximately 290,000 households across 107 cities, counties, and districts. Among them, it connected about 110,000 households—nearly 40%—with welfare services.
Mail carriers respond that while the work is demanding, it is ultimately rewarding. Kwon Hyuk-min, head of the mail delivery office at Sasang Post Office, noted that although their workload has increased, when asked if it was difficult, he replied, "Being a mail carrier is a 'warm profession' where you directly interact with residents." He added, "The Well-being Check Package service isn't done just as a job; it's carried out to help residents."
Busan Regional Post Office has been proactive in public initiatives, including launching the 'Welfare Registered Mail' service—the origin of the Well-being Check Package—in Yeongdo-gu as the first nationwide pilot. Currently operating programs include: Welfare Registered Mail (24 general areas, 9 dementia-specific areas), Medication Collection (9 areas), Well-being Check Packages (14 areas), National Park Recycling Collection (6 areas), Cash Delivery for Seniors (4 areas), National Pension Cash Delivery (10 areas), and Starbucks Slow Mailbox (1 area).
in TECH
