80% of Gwanak Residents Have High Expectations for the Expansion of the Gang Gam-chan City Brand

Assessment of the 7th Term Local Government Performance and Resident-Centered Policy Development through the '2020 Regular Public Opinion Survey'... High Satisfaction with Regional Economic Revitalization Policies such as Gwanak S Valley and Gwanak Sarang Gift Certificates

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) has disclosed the results of the ‘2020 Regular Public Opinion Survey’ conducted on about 1,000 residents, revealing that 8 out of 10 Gwanak-gu residents are aware of the ‘Gang Gam-chan City’ and showed expectations for the expansion of the Gang Gam-chan City brand through the Gang Gam-chan Festival.

The ‘2020 Regular Public Opinion Survey’ was prepared to diagnose the achievements of the 7th local government administration and to establish resident-centered participatory policies for the post-COVID-19 era through policy communication.

In particular, moving away from the questionnaire-type surveys conducted since 2010, the survey included various evaluations and opinions on major policies of the 7th local government administration through group interviews (FGI - Focus Group Interview) with general residents.

As a result of the survey, 8 out of 10 Gwanak-gu residents are aware of the ‘Gang Gam-chan City’ and showed expectations for the expansion of the Gang Gam-chan City brand through the Gang Gam-chan Festival.

The district is actively promoting various policies to establish ‘Gang Gam-chan City Gwanak-gu,’ the hometown of General Gang Gam-chan, a famous Goryeo general who was born and raised here, as a representative brand along with the Gang Gam-chan Festival.

The honorary road name ‘Gang Gam-chan-daero’ has been designated for the section from Siheung IC to Sadang IC on Nambusunhwan-ro, and Nakseongdae Station on Subway Line 2 has been officially dual-named as ‘Gang Gam-chan Station’ and is currently in use. Additionally, the Gang Gam-chan themed bus, decorated with the Gang Gam-chan character, his birth legend, and the victory report of the Battle of Gwiju, is also in operation.

Furthermore, 58.7% of respondents positively evaluated the overall policies promoted by Gwanak-gu, an increase of 0.9% compared to last year.

In particular, positive responses were shown toward local economic revitalization policies such as ‘Gwanak S Valley’ and the issuance of ‘Gwanak Love Gift Certificates.’

For improving residents’ quality of life through living SOC facilities, ‘expansion of public parking lots’ was highlighted, and for promoting a safe city free of crime, ‘expansion of CCTV and streetlights’ was noted. Many opinions emphasized the need to focus on strengthening local economic vitality and improving transportation environments such as light rail transit in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.

Regarding the channels through which residents became aware of Gwanak-gu news, responses indicating the website (9.3% → 15.5%) and official SNS (9.0% → 16.2%) increased significantly compared to last year, which appears to reflect rapid information provision and non-face-to-face policies due to COVID-19.

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, “Through this public opinion survey, we were able to confirm residents’ sympathy and support for the major policies of the 7th local government administration. We will continue to listen to residents’ voices and strongly promote resident-experienced policies to do our best to improve residents’ quality of life and happiness index.”