Suwon City Children's Boarding and Alighting Area Gets New Name 'Eoulter'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-seong] Suwon Special City announced on the 25th that it has changed and selected a new name for the children's boarding and alighting area, which had been called 'Mom's Station', to 'Eoulter'.

'Mom's Station' had been a place where children and guardians waited for school and private academy vehicles. However, the name drew criticism for being gender-discriminatory as it specified the guardian picking up children as a mother, and there were also points raised that it limited the purpose to a 'children's safe commuting space'.

In response, the city began developing a standard design for Mom's Station and a new name in July of last year. Through citizen participation in proposing new names and preference surveys, the city decided on 'Eoulter', which means a space that harmonizes well with neighbors, as the new name.

The Eoulter design was developed in two types—enclosed and open—so that it can be applied widely to apartment complexes, multi-family housing, urban parks, and urban regeneration project sites.

Designed in a modular format that can be connected and separated from each other, the Eoulter can be selected and combined in certain sizes and shapes depending on the environment where it will be installed. This maintains consistent design while increasing space utilization.

Enhanced convenience functions by allowing universal slope entrance ramps, heated benches, air purifiers, and digital displays to be selected as optional features.

The city plans to apply the developed standard design when approving multi-family housing project plans and announcing community activation support project competitions. The standard design will also be applied when installing Eoulter in urban regeneration project sites and urban parks.

A city official stated, "The new name and standard design are expected to improve perceptions of the existing Mom's Station," and added, "We hope this becomes an opportunity for Mom's Station, which had been a children's school commute waiting area, to emerge as a rest, communication, and safety space for all residents."