[Seoul District News] Seoul's First Urban Natural Recreation Forest of 354,513㎡ Established, Total Project Cost 8.6 Billion KRW, Groundbreaking on 23rd, Completion in 2024 & Visitor Center, Terrace Garden, Treehouse, Total 18 Buildings 25 Rooms and Various Amenities... Seongbuk-gu Completes Redevelopment of Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will build Korea's first urban-type recreational forest utilizing the forest resources of Suraksan Mountain.
According to the Korea Forest Service, due to changes in travel trends caused by COVID-19, the demand for forest recreation has increased, with about 15 million people visiting natural recreational forests last year alone.
Although the number of visitors has increased and recreational forests are growing nationwide, there are no recreational forests within Seoul. The closest recreational forests to Seoul are in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, but due to inconvenient transportation and difficulty in making reservations, they are not easily accessible.
Accordingly, the district has been promoting a project since 2018 to create facilities where people can enjoy natural recreational forests in Seoul. The Suraksan Natural Recreational Forest held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 23rd and has entered full-scale construction, aiming for completion in the second half of 2024.
The area where the recreational forest will be located, San 155-1, Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, is called Dongmakgol of Suraksan. It is not only close to Danggogae Station on Subway Line 4 and has excellent natural surroundings, but also features gentle slopes that are safe from various disasters, making it a beloved spot for hikers.
The recreational forest will cover an area of 354,513㎡ and will be divided into the ‘Family Garden’ and the ‘Forest Garden.’ The two gardens are separated along the Suraksan valley and connected by a small bridge crossing the valley.
Major facilities planned include a visitor center, forest houses, treehouses, and walking trails, comprising 18 buildings with 25 rooms.
The ‘Family Garden’ spans 6,800㎡ and serves as the central area of the recreational forest. It will house the management office, cafeteria, community space, and double rooms, along with a total of 10 accommodations consisting of four-person and six-person rooms. In front of these, shared yards and gardens will be created to provide relaxation spaces.
The ‘Forest Garden’ covers about 3,000㎡ and will feature a total of eight accommodations ranging from double rooms to six-person rooms, including treehouses. The treehouses are designed to preserve the shape of the trees as much as possible, with rooms built on top, offering a cozy attic-like atmosphere. In the center, there will be a shared lawn, themed gardens, and rest facilities accessible to all rooms.
A distinctive feature of the Suraksan Recreational Forest is that visitors are expected to tolerate some minor inconveniences. For example, TVs will not be installed in the rooms, and indoor cooking will be prohibited to allow guests to enjoy nature as it is.
To build a nature-friendly recreational forest harmonizing with the existing Suraksan, the district visited the Oslo Fjord Treehouses in Norway and prepared the project through consultations with experts and civic groups such as the Green Alliance.
As the first attempt at an ‘urban-type recreational forest,’ the district plans to thoroughly promote the project so that the Suraksan Natural Recreational Forest can become a new model for national leisure life.
The district has carried out various projects to create the Suraksan Healing Town. It has established a forest experience center for children and a barrier-free forest trail on Suraksan, and last month opened the Suraksan Sports Town to provide residents with a healing space and a unique leisure environment.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Creating a recreational forest of this scale in the heart of Seoul is a very new and meaningful attempt,” adding, “We will do our best to make the Suraksan Natural Recreational Forest a sanctuary for residents tired of daily life and a resting place for the whole family.”
Seongbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) completed the ‘Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park Playground Reconstruction Project,’ transforming the playground within Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park, a popular spot among many residents, into a more professional sports facility, and opened it to the public on the 20th.
The existing playground at Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park lacked clear divisions by sport, causing confusion among users. To address problems arising from the mixed use by various visitors, the district started the project to separate spaces according to different sports and usage patterns, enabling simultaneous accommodation of multiple sports users and walkers, thereby making more efficient use of the space.
Seongbuk-gu secured 1 billion KRW in district funds to meet the demand for community sports and constructed one artificial turf field, one jokgu (foot volleyball) court, and one basketball court on the previously dirt multi-purpose playground.
Additionally, the surrounding area was paved with masato (compacted soil) to allow comfortable walking exercises, thus reconstructing the playground to satisfy diverse exercise needs.
District Mayor Lee Seung-ro stated, “I hope this becomes an opportunity to revitalize community sports, which have been stagnant due to COVID-19, by attracting not only existing playground users but also various generations in Seongbuk-gu to visit and exercise.”
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