[Interview] Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu: "We Will Establish Songpa as a Cultural and Arts Hub through Songpa Dullegil Development and Hosting of Korea National University of Arts"

Five Small Business Experts Hired as Hope Planners to Provide On-Site Support... Songpa Dulle-gil Developed as an 'Urban Healing Trail'... 'Seoul International Exchange Complex District' in Jamsil Progressing Smoothly... Korea National University of Arts Establishes Itself as a Cultural and Arts Hub

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] "It feels like just yesterday that we started the long marathon of the four-year term of the 7th local government, but it’s hard to believe we’ve already passed the halfway point. In 2021, which will be the practical conclusion of the 7th local government, we will focus on 'education' and 'culture' and concentrate on leading the post-COVID-19 era."

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, recently met with reporters and said, "The major projects initiated in the first half of the 7th local government are now on track. The past two years have been a valuable time to lay the foundation for development aimed at 'Songpa leading Seoul' through change."

He emphasized that significant achievements were made, especially in strengthening the foundation for job creation, education, and cultural development. Among them, in the job sector, which is the greatest concern for residents, 24,024 jobs were created over the past two years through the establishment of customized job platforms by generation and class, such as the Senior Consulting Center, Women’s Career Connection Center, and Songpa ICT Startup Support Center, as well as collaboration with Job Korea.

In the fields of education and culture, representative achievements include the establishment of Songpa’s unique education model ‘Songpa SSEM’, the creation of the Songpa Dullegil trail, and the confirmation of the Pungnap-dong urban regeneration revitalization project, which laid the foundation to further enhance the value of Songpa.

He also stressed that large-scale development projects that will change the topography of Songpa have been progressing smoothly. Mayor Park said, "The most regrettable thing this year was the significant impact on projects and events for residents due to COVID-19. Just as we held the Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival and the Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival online, we will continue to prioritize residents’ safety and strive to implement pledged projects flexibly according to the situation by exploring various measures." Below is a Q&A with Mayor Park.

- What are Songpa-gu’s local economic response measures amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic?

▲ The local economy has suffered greatly due to COVID-19. Despite various government support policies, we noticed that some small business owners were excluded from benefits. Songpa-gu is the only district nationwide operating a ‘Visiting Small Business Hope Planner’. Five experts related to small businesses were hired as Hope Planners to visit sites directly. They listen to the difficulties of small business owners, find necessary support such as consulting and legal advice, and sometimes assist with administrative procedures like filling out support applications.

Additionally, to help small and medium-sized enterprises facing financial difficulties, we reduced loan interest on a total of 19.7 billion KRW in corporate financing funds and simplified application and screening procedures. We also issued Songpa Love Gift Certificates worth 20 billion KRW three times, which sold out early and received great interest from residents. In September, an additional issuance of 20 billion KRW was implemented, greatly helping local small business sales.

- Among the major achievements of the 7th local government, the ‘Songpa Dullegil’ stands out. Could you introduce it and share future plans?

▲ ‘Songpa Dullegil’ is a core pledge project of the 7th local government. Since the basic plan was established in 2018, a circular trail of about 21 km connecting four rivers?Seongnaecheon, Jangjicheon, Tancheon, and the Han River?flowing along the outskirts of Songpa-gu has been finalized. Except for the forest path of Jangjicheon, it is Seoul’s only waterfront promenade utilizing ‘waterways’.

The course is divided into four: Seongnaecheon Course (6 km), where urban landscapes and rural scenery coexist; Jangjicheon Course (4.4 km), themed as a forest green path; Tancheon Course (7.4 km), adjacent to an ecological landscape conservation area; and Han River Course (3.2 km), focused on rest and leisure. Construction began in October 2019 to renovate aging pedestrian and bicycle paths, reinforce various convenience facilities such as benches and exercise equipment, and beautify the area by planting flowers and trees.

Among the four sections of Songpa Dullegil, the Tancheon section was the only one not yet opened, causing great disappointment among local residents. Accordingly, on November 4th last year, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the 4.4 km promenade from Gwangpyeonggyo to Samsunggyo in the Tancheon section. By June next year, the entire waterfront promenade of Songpa Dullegil will be organically connected without interruption.

In particular, various contents are being developed, including the development of the Dullegil BI, photo zones, the Milky Way promenade, specialized space creation, planting activation, and ecological program operation.

We will complete a pedestrian-friendly circular waterfront promenade connecting every corner of Songpa-gu to create an ‘urban healing Dullegil’ that will improve residents’ quality of life changed by COVID-19.

- Development centered around Jamsil Sports Complex is in full swing. What is the current status and plan?

▲ Let me start with the ‘Seoul International District’ being developed around Jamsil. The Seoul International District (SID) covers 1.66 million square meters from COEX to Hyundai GBC (former KEPCO site) to Jamsil Sports Complex. The main goal is to create four core industrial facilities?international business, sports, entertainment, and exhibition/convention?and link them with the waterfront spaces of Tancheon and the Han River to make it an international landmark.

This is a large-scale project with an investment of 4.241 trillion KRW. The entire project is divided into a public finance project funded by Hyundai GBC’s public contribution and a private investment project. The projects funded by Hyundai GBC’s public contribution include remodeling the main stadium of Jamsil Sports Complex, park development of the Han River and Tancheon waterfront spaces, and underground construction of Olympic-daero and Tancheon-dong/Seo-ro, totaling 12 projects. Construction is expected to begin sequentially as early as July next year.

- You are working hard to attract Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts). What is the progress and expected effects if successful?

▲ Songpa-gu has been making every effort to attract Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts) since 2017. ‘Culture’ is the dignity and competitiveness of a city. To raise Songpa’s cultural value and competitiveness to the next level, we are actively pursuing the attraction of K-Arts, the top elite training institution in the arts and culture field.

There are three main reasons why K-Arts should be located in Songpa-gu. First and foremost, K-Arts students strongly want to move to Songpa-gu. In surveys conducted twice by the K-Arts student council in 2016 and 2019, over 80% of students expressed a preference for Songpa-gu.

The site selection for K-Arts should be decided not by political logic but by where it can gain global competitiveness. To become like the Juilliard School in the U.S. or the Royal College of Art in the U.K., K-Arts should be located in Songpa-gu. We will definitely attract K-Arts and establish Songpa-gu as the cultural and artistic center of South Korea.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “In addition, large-scale projects such as the creation of the Songpa ICT Security Cluster, development of the Seongdong Prison site, construction of Wirye Sinsa Line and Wirye Tram, and establishment of a specialized library branch for performance and arts?the Seoul Library branch?are progressing smoothly to raise residents’ quality of life and the city’s value to the next level. Above all, we will thoroughly prepare for infectious diseases and various disasters to protect residents’ health and safety and do our best to stabilize the new daily lives of residents changed by COVID-19.”