Suncheon-si Strives to Revitalize Downtown Commercial District through Urban Regeneration

Urban Regeneration in 4 Original Downtown Zones with 103.7 Billion KRW as Seed Money to Revitalize Commercial Areas
Installation of a 17-Year Urban Regeneration History Archive Walked Together with Residents
Asking, Listening, and Acting with Resi

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City's urban regeneration is directly discussing and solving the 700-year-old living environment issues together with local residents, discovering historical resources to create stories, and rebirthing the area into a dynamic village integrated with culture and arts.

By regenerating old hanok houses and alleyways to breathe new life into them, creating living conditions where cultural benefits can be enjoyed as a catalyst project in the village, and revitalizing rapidly declining commercial districts, the city is actively working on these efforts.

Suncheon-style urban regeneration began in 2014 with four zones selected through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Urban Regeneration New Deal contest, securing a total project budget of 103.7 billion KRW, with projects ongoing until 2023.

The first phase started in 2014 with Hyangdong and Jungang-dong, the second phase in 2017 with Jeojeon-dong and Jangcheon-dong, and the third phase last year in the Suncheon Station area, all resident-led Suncheon-style urban regeneration projects.

▶ Suncheon Old Downtown Urban Regeneration Project Progressing with 103.7 Billion KRW across Four Zones

The first phase targeted Hyangdong and Jungang-dong, where the Suncheonbu fortress once stood. Selected in 2014 through the Ministry of Land contest, 20 billion KRW was invested over four years, completing the project in 2018.

Residents living in this area can enjoy culture and arts on foot, with four creative art villages established offering free year-round exhibitions including photography, hanbok displays, and works by famous painters.

At the site of the Suncheonbu fortress west gate, a living SOC facility called the West Gate Information Center was created, operating as a village broadcasting station, travel information center, exhibition space, small library, and children's playroom.

Additionally, projects such as Eco Geo village creation, fortress trail, 700-year-old alleyway development, Okcheon nightscape, youth challenge shop operation, and Maesandeul parking lot construction have improved entrepreneurship and living conditions.

Last year, the Ministry of Land's Urban Regeneration Festival, attended by over 80,000 urban regeneration activists, was held in this area, marking Suncheon as a nationwide successful model for urban regeneration.

The second phase covers Jeojeon-dong, centered around Nam Elementary School, and Jangcheon-dong, centered around the terminal commercial district. Selected in 2017 through the Ministry of Land's Urban Regeneration New Deal contest, the project is ongoing with a budget of 49.7 billion KRW until 2022.

Jeojeon-dong, pioneering the nation's first school regeneration, involves the 114-year-old Suncheon Nam Elementary School. The education office, school, students, experts, and local residents collaboratively created an ecological playground, fence landscape improvements, smart school routes, and a shared community space in the southern building, now in the final stages and becoming a new school regeneration model.

In August, the first citizen garden, led directly by residents in Jeojeon-dong (areas 3-4), was created in connection with the 2023 Suncheonman National Garden Expo. By next year, plans include lowering fences, demolishing front rooms to create gardens, and establishing about 50 gardens in alleys, rooftops, and building walls on public and private land.

Also, a village hotel linked to the garden village creation will be established, and a village management cooperative will be organized and operated to realize profit-making businesses using village resources.

Jangcheon-dong's urban regeneration, centered on the Suncheon General Terminal commercial district, prioritizes revitalizing the declining commercial area to attract people.

As a catalyst project for commercial revitalization, long-abandoned old vacant stores around the terminal are being remodeled into a Mongmirak Center with shared kitchens and meeting rooms, an artist residence, music club rooms, a complex cultural space, small exhibition halls and performance venues, and youth startup spaces.

Additionally, at the terminal entrance, a traveler rest area and a book culture center where anyone can read, learn, and realize publishing dreams are being constructed, with urban gardens planned on walls and rooftops to provide visual attractions.

Furthermore, from next year, universal design (UD) will be applied to improve pedestrian environments, underground wiring projects, and signboard improvements to create four specialized streets (Artisan Street, Dawn Street, Garden Street, Smart Street) in the Isuro and Palma-ro areas of Jangcheon-dong.

The third phase is the Suncheon Station area, dreaming of a 21st-century railway renaissance, promoted simultaneously with the electrification of the Gyeongjeon Line. Selected last year in the Ministry of Land's Urban Regeneration New Deal contest, the project has a budget of 34 billion KRW and will continue until 2023.

The Suncheon Station area preserves the Jeolla Line and Gyeongjeon Line routes, housing Suncheon Station with 80 years of history and the Yeokjeon Market, the largest seafood market in Jeonnam with a 40-year tradition as a daily dawn market.

Through this urban regeneration catalyst, the plan is to create hub spaces, three specialized streets, expand living SOC, and develop it into a smart city to attract people and revitalize the commercial district.

An ecological business platform being newly built near the Dongcheon Greenway will be the largest startup incubation space in the Honam region, a regional VR·AR production hub center, a business caf?, and a national garden platform, constructed as a three-story building aiming to open in January 2022.

Uniquely selected as a smart city-type urban regeneration project nationwide, it will implement smart streets featuring humanoid smart robots, ecological tourism information services via the Wish Tree, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) to provide experiential information.

▶ 17 Years Walked Together with Residents. Installation of Urban Regeneration History Museum

Suncheon City is promoting the most urban regeneration New Deal projects nationwide.

Last year, it became known as a sacred place for urban regeneration by hosting the Ministry of Land's Urban Regeneration Festival on-site for the first time nationwide, attracting over 110,000 visitors from across the country over two years to learn from Suncheon.

A history museum capturing the 17-year story of resident-led Suncheon-style urban regeneration, which has attracted nationwide attention, is being prepared to open in March next year at the South Gate Plaza of Suncheonbu Fortress.

This place will exhibit the 10 years of citizen capacity building in Suncheon-style urban regeneration, one year of resident discussions for strategic planning, and the voices and regeneration stories of residents from the pioneering project start in 2014 to the Urban Regeneration New Deal projects.

▶ Asking, Listening, and Executing with Residents to Prepare Village Coexistence Plans

Capturing residents' stories is the greatest charm of urban regeneration.

Residents know best the strengths and weaknesses of the living environment they have protected and lived in for decades.

Greater resident participation is a key success factor for regeneration.

Starting with the Residents' Idea Festival, more than ten projects annually are directly carried out by village communities through resident proposal contests that find and mature solutions to local problems.

Jeojeon-dong residents are creating a beautiful village by dreaming of a garden village and village hotel, engaging in activities such as Jeojeon Valley gardeners, Jeojeon Valley companion tree sharing, eco-friendly quilt accessory production, and palm-sized garden creation.

Jangcheon-dong residents focus on revitalizing the commercial district, strengthening merchants' competitiveness through developing goods and tourism products, food consulting for dining establishments, fostering social economy organizations, craft beer development, and youth startup support.

Suncheon Station area residents strive to turn village resources into treasures by producing neighborhood magazines containing village stories, exploring Yeokjeon Market and youth startup alley, local dining, and monitoring traveler safety streets.

Going forward, Suncheon-style urban regeneration plans to support the challenges of local residents who solve regional problems themselves and aim to revitalize their communities through various methods.

▶ Small-scale Urban Regeneration in New Town, Crime Environment Improvement, and Three Contest Achievements

In 2020, Suncheon City's urban regeneration is working to resolve residents' inconveniences in declining villages.

The new town of Suncheon (Yeonhyang-dong), which led apartment culture in the 1990s, is experiencing hollowing out, raising issues of commercial decline.

Accordingly, it was selected for the Ministry of Land's small-scale urban regeneration contest, securing a project budget of 400 million KRW.

By next year, village planning, new town representative festival development, youth safety streets, and resident capacity-building projects will be promoted.

Additionally, selected for the Ministry of Land's urban regeneration resident capacity-building contest with a budget of 20 million KRW, a youth community nurturing project active in Daehak-ro is underway until the first half of next year.

The Bukmun-ro Urban Regeneration New Deal area has submitted an application for the Ministry of Land contest in the second half of this year, with results expected at the end of December.

This area was selected in May for the Ministry of Justice's crime environment improvement project linked with central government projects, conducting crime prevention education for local residents, village map drawing, and village safety keeper nurturing projects.

Suncheon City was chosen as the best local government for law and order establishment through crime environment improvement projects in four urban regeneration zones and is scheduled to receive the Minister of Justice Award at the end of December.

Mayor Heo Seok of Suncheon said, “Urban regeneration, where local residents who know their living environment best plan revitalization and participate directly in execution to transform the village as they desire, is unique to Suncheon nationwide.” He added, “We will do our best to make the declining old downtown vibrant and a livable city through Suncheon-style urban regeneration promoted in four zones.”