[Cheongju (North Chungcheong Province)·Gwangmyeong (Gyeonggi Province) = E-Daily Reporter Bang Bo-kyeong ] Gwangmyeong Cave in Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi Province, on the 23rd. Although it is a famous tourist destination attracting over 600,000 visitors annually, it is difficult to find any amenities nearby. Since it takes at least 30 minutes to walk to the city center, visitors can find themselves in a bind if they forget to bring essentials for their outing.

However, at least there’s no need to worry about forgetting to bring sanitary pads. That’s because a sanitary pad vending machine, accompanied by a sign, has been installed in the women’s restroom. When I stood in front of the machine and pressed the “dispense” button, a sanitary pad dropped out of the dispenser with a “plop.” It can be used just like a regular vending machine, without having to enter personal information or sign up for a membership.

Gwangmyeong City selected the location for the dispenser considering the large number of tourists who visit Gwangmyeong Cave. This is because the area gets crowded during peak season due to nighttime openings and is also frequented by many students during school breaks. The location was carefully chosen based on the judgment that it would allow the city to provide welfare services to as many people as possible.

Various safety features were also installed on the dispenser to address concerns about misuse or abuse that had been raised even before the pilot project began. Even if a user presses the dispenser button repeatedly, only one sanitary pad is dispensed at a time, thanks to a 20-second “cooldown period.” Furthermore, if a single person continues to take an excessive number of pads, the operating interval can be extended via the central management system.

A QR code scanner was also installed on the right side of the vending machine. Although it was not used during the pilot project, the system is designed to allow users to receive sanitary pads using a QR code issued to their personal smartphones in the future. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family explained that even if issues of misuse or abuse become severe, this feature will enable the management of individual usage frequency.

Great effort was also put into quality control to ensure anyone can use the products with confidence. At the “ KleanNara(004540) ” factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province—which our reporting team visited prior to our trip to Gwangmyeong Cave—sanitary pads were being produced under strictly controlled processes. Not only do seven cameras installed throughout the production line inspect the pads in real time for foreign objects, but in the final stage, workers unfold each product one by one to check for defects.

The public sanitary pads produced in this way are identical to the “Pure Cotton Zero” brand sold on the market, differing only in their packaging. Public sanitary pads are also manufactured with a 100% pure cotton surface cover, just like commercially available products. A representative from KleanNara emphasized, “We are confident in this product because it is the company’s bestseller and has been recognized by customers for its quality.”

The distribution of these sanitary pads—which combine both quality and accessibility—to all 12 local governments nationwide is scheduled to take place around September. Currently, automatic dispensers are being deployed in phases. Unlike manual dispensers with limited capacity, these automatic dispensers hold 170 packs, so they are expected to be more noticeable to users.

There are also plans to provide exact locations so that women do not find themselves in a bind while out on the street. Currently, visitors to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s website can view a map of manual dispensers installed in early July, as well as a map of automatic dispensers currently being installed. While ministry officials are currently adding locations one by one, the ministry plans to partner with Naver Maps and Kakao Maps in the second half of the year to provide the locations of sanitary pad dispensers directly through their apps.

An official from the Ministry of Gender Equality emphasized, “We are deploying the dispensers as soon as they are produced by the manufacturers,” adding, “Although 41 units are currently installed, we will strive to accelerate the timeline for completing the installation of 400 units.”