Development of 'Suraksan Sports Town' including Soccer and Baseball Fields in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu

[Seoul District News] Complex Sports Facility Opens on 30,000㎡ Site in 125 Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu with 44 Billion KRW Investment: Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, Soft Tennis Courts and Leisure Green Space for Healing & Construction of Gongneung District Sports Center Begins on 26th to Build Regional Infrastructure and Promote Community Sports for Healthy Nowon... Songpa-gu Decorates Themed Flower Beds and Hanging Flowerpots, Creating a Healing Urban Space in Deepening Autumn... Floor Renovation Completed around Jungang Market in Jung-gu... 5th Gwanak Urban Agriculture Festival Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will create Suraksan Sports Town to support residents' physical fitness and healthy leisure activities, and hold a completion ceremony on the 27th.

The site at 125 Sangye-dong, where the Sports Town was built, was a natural green area at the foot of Suraksan Mountain and designated as a development-restricted zone. However, despite this, it was an area plagued by residents' complaints due to the proliferation of unauthorized buildings and illegal dumping of waste.

Since 2016, the district has been promoting related projects to return this site to the residents. Illegal buildings were demolished, construction began, and after about 1 year and 8 months, the construction was completed. The completion ceremony will be held on the 27th to welcome residents.

Surak Sports Town, with a total project cost of 44 billion KRW, covers an area of about 30,000 square meters and consists of various sports facilities and a management building equipped with offices, showers, and changing rooms.

It includes one baseball field (center length 95m), one soccer field (90m*60m), and three courts of soft tennis and tennis (10.97m*23.77m) built to international competition standards, with lighting towers installed to allow games to be held at night.

Designed to take advantage of the terrain characteristics of Suraksan's foothills, it is also accessible for people with disabilities, the elderly, and pregnant women. The stadiums have artificial turf and shock-absorbing drainage plates installed to prevent injury risks and safety accidents.

From the entrance, cherry blossom trees and mountain azaleas were planted to harmonize with Suraksan's outstanding natural scenery, and between the soccer and tennis courts, a grass plaza, a small stage, children's playground facilities, and deck rest areas were installed to create a resting space that residents of various age groups can enjoy.

The district expects Suraksan Sports Town to play a central role in healthy leisure activities not only for residents of Sangye-dong but for all district residents, as it is highly accessible near Madeul Station on Subway Line 7 and Sanggye Station and Danggogae Station on Line 4.

The Sports Town will undergo a pilot operation throughout November to adjust facilities and operations before officially opening to residents.

The district is striving to build sports infrastructure within living areas. The Gongneung District Sports Center, which broke ground on the 26th and is scheduled to open in 2025, will have a total floor area of 2,516 square meters across three basement and three above-ground floors, equipped with a swimming pool, gymnasium, and program rooms.

Along with the currently under-construction Seoul Eoullim Sports Center and Sanggye District Sports Center, once completed, the facilities will provide comprehensive amenities by region, greatly aiding residents' leisure life and health promotion.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, "We have transformed a place that was filled with illegal buildings and waste into a leisure space that all residents can enjoy. We will continue to expand public sports facilities by region to activate community sports and realize a vibrant and healthy city of Nowon."

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) has been adorned with a variety of colorful flowers along major roads and bus stops to welcome autumn.

The district created beautiful landscapes throughout the area to help residents relieve fatigue from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and find vitality in daily life.

Theme flower beds were created at three locations: Jamsil Intersection traffic island, the central divider of the Sports Complex, and the central divider at the District Office intersection, allowing both drivers and pedestrians to fully enjoy the autumn atmosphere.

Along major roads such as Olympic-daero and Songpa-daero, streetlight hanging flower pots display colorful wave petunias and zinnias stretching along the streets. At major intersections including Ogeum Station intersection, street flower pots combining perennials and annuals were installed to provide a three-dimensional effect.

Additionally, at 10 central bus stops, railing-type flower pots planted with cockscomb and petunias offer visual enjoyment to passengers throughout autumn. Furthermore, until November, various flowers such as garden mums and stray chrysanthemums will bloom, allowing people to fully enjoy the deepening autumn atmosphere.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, "I hope residents can relieve accumulated fatigue and feel small happiness while enjoying the autumn flowers planted throughout Songpa-gu. We will continue to actively utilize abundant environmental infrastructure to create a 'wonderful landscaped city where roadsides are decorated with flowers each season' and a 'sensory city where people and nature coexist' in Songpa."

Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) refurbished the flooring of Sinjungang Market and Hwanghak Market at the end of September.

This project was promoted to revitalize the Hwanghak commercial district by replacing the flooring to ensure visitors can walk safely and comfortably. The market atmosphere was also brightened, which is expected to help increase sales.

Since the second half of 2021 until this year, the district selected three sections?the central passage of Sinjungang Market, Ssajeon Street and Boribapbu, and Hwanghak Market?in consultation with Seoul City and the Sinjungang Market Merchants Association to carry out the project. The flooring materials and designs for the approximately 7,000 square meters of construction area were also decided through consultation.

The previously featureless asphalt pavement around Sinjungang Market was repaved with designed flooring, refreshing the market atmosphere. The central passage of Sinjungang Market was repaved with a designed coating material that maintains the current asphalt pavement condition, considering the structural stability of Sindang Underground Shopping Center, improving its appearance.

The Boribapbu and Ssajeon Street at the entrance of Sinjungang Market were repaved with worn asphalt to create a safe walking environment. The roads were paved with stamped coating to highlight the market's unique character.

Hwanghak Market has a sloped road where frequent complaints about walking difficulties were reported. There, anti-slip pavement was applied to prevent accidents and allow elderly people to walk comfortably.

Mayor Kim Gil-seong said, "Sinjungang Market has recently become popular among young people. I hope more customers visit the market, shop comfortably, and stay longer thanks to this construction."

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) will hold the '5th Gwanak Urban Agriculture Festival' on the 29th at Nakseongdae Park, Gang Gam-chan Garden, and Gang Gam-chan Urban Agriculture Center.

Now in its fifth year, this festival is themed 'Gwanak Urban Agriculture Saving the Earth,' presenting the realization of carbon neutrality and the direction of urban agriculture. It is an event where farmers and urban residents come together as an urban agriculture community.

Starting with the opening declaration at 10:30 a.m. in Nakseongdae Park, various congratulatory performances and traditional games will be held in the cultural yard. The exhibition yard will feature promotional booths for urban agriculture-related products, introductions to urban agriculture communities, program works, and rural photography exhibitions.

On one side of the park, a marketplace for agricultural products from Gwanak-gu's sister cities?Goesan in Chungbuk, Gongju and Seocheon in Chungnam, and Yanggu in Gangwon-do?will be set up, allowing visitors to purchase fresh and high-quality agricultural products at affordable prices. Visitors can also barter crops they grew themselves at Gang Gam-chan Garden.

Additionally, various side events such as a garden photo contest and OX quizzes will offer prizes.

At Gang Gam-chan Garden, from 11:30 a.m., visitors can freely experience 15 different agricultural activities, including rice harvesting and threshing using sickles and traditional threshers.

The 'Gang Gam-chan Urban Agriculture Center' will host a special lecture on urban agriculture with experts from 1 p.m., themed 'The Role of Gwanak Urban Agriculture for Carbon Neutrality.' Free consultations with urban agriculture counselors will also be available for those unfamiliar with urban agriculture, providing a learning space to resolve questions and gain diverse information.

In addition, the district has established six Gang Gam-chan Gardens and 100 Seoul-style gardens to promote urban agriculture. Centered on the Gang Gam-chan Urban Agriculture Center, various urban agriculture programs are operated, offering residents opportunities for eco-friendly urban agriculture activities to heal in the city.

The Gang Gam-chan Urban Agriculture Center, designed as a greenhouse space focused on plants and people, maximizes spatial continuity and harmonizes architectural design, ecological planning, and spatial operation. It won the Grand Prize at the '2022 Seoul Metropolitan Government Architecture Awards.'

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, "I hope the Gwanak Urban Agriculture Festival provides a day to escape the stuffiness of the city and gain vitality. We will continue to strive to make Gwanak a clean living space where residents can rest close to nature."