Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok's Consecutive Visits to the US, Italy, and More... Why?

MOU Signed for Creation of Bio Venture Complex at Changdong Vehicle Depot during Visit to Boston and Other US Cities on the 10th

Idea for Train Village Inspired by Visits to Germany and Italy in January

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, has been actively traveling abroad this year.

Following visits to Hamburg, Germany, and Italy in January, he continued his journey by visiting major cities in the United States this month.

Oh Seung-rok, elected as the 7th-term mayor of Nowon District and re-elected, is known as a “field mayor” who has traveled a total domestic vehicle distance of 55,700 km since taking office?equivalent to 69 round trips between Seoul and Busan.

In January, Oh visited Hamburg, Germany, and Italy to gather ideas for creating an Italian Pavilion to follow the popular 'Nowon Train Village - Swiss Pavilion,' which opened in November last year.

In particular, Hamburg features a railway miniature exhibit, and after reviewing the local situation, construction of the Italian Pavilion is expected to begin soon.

Oh visited Boston and other US cities for a 10-day trip starting on the 15th of this month and returned on the afternoon of the 24th.

◆Promotion of Bio-Medical Complex Centered on Changdong Vehicle Depot and Seoul National University Hospital

Mayor Oh is pushing forward plans to develop a world-class bio-medical complex on the sites of Changdong Vehicle Depot and the Driver’s License Examination Office. The plan is to anchor the complex with large hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital and attract bio-related research institutes.

Signing of the Agreement for Visit to the United States

In line with this plan, Mayor Oh signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KABIC (Korean American Bio Industry Consortium) in Boston.

In a phone interview with reporters on the morning of the 25th, Mayor Oh said, “During my visit, I saw firsthand that Boston has risen as the world’s top bio cluster since 2015, thanks to world-renowned institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and headquarters of Pfizer and Moderna.”

He added, “I take pride in having established a network by signing an MOU with KABIC, which gathers outstanding Korean-American talents.”

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also signed an MOU with them in 2011.

Nowon District has been pursuing the creation of the ‘Seoul Nowon Bio-Medical Cluster (SN-BMC, hereafter Bio Medical Complex)’ on the 247,000㎡ site of Changdong Vehicle Depot and Dobong Driver’s License Examination Office since 2019, aiming to transform from a Seoul bedroom community into a self-sufficient city.

This MOU aims to lay the foundation for international exchange and cooperation in the bio industry before the full-scale launch of the project.

The counterpart, KABIC, established in 2011 in the Boston area, is a non-profit organization comprising over 200 Korean-American bio industry professionals in the New England region.

Through this agreement, both parties agreed to cooperate on ▲building an international bio network ▲sharing trends and infrastructure information in the bio-medical field ▲international consulting and joint research ▲operating talent development programs such as boot camps and personnel exchanges.

Upon arrival in the US on the 15th, Mayor Oh and district officials toured bio-related industrial facilities in Boston before signing the agreement.

Boston is recognized as a global bio-industry hub with a large ecosystem of industry, universities, research institutes, and hospitals, generating over 110,000 jobs and approximately 2 trillion dollars in economic impact.

Mayor Oh engaged in in-depth discussions with experts and scholars at the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) about the success factors of Boston’s bio ecosystem and ways to apply them in Nowon.

He also visited the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), housing numerous shared offices, and Lab Central Inc., home to about 125 startups, and held a meeting with the Korean American Society of Pharmaceutical Professionals (KASBP), which includes around 820 members from the US biopharmaceutical industry and academia, to seek advice on the public role and effective support methods needed to attract innovative industries locally.

The district plans to utilize the international cooperation network and Boston’s case studies gained from this trip to finalize the bio-medical complex project plan and ensure Nowon’s opinions are actively reflected in the preliminary Seoul city feasibility study scheduled for the second half of the year.

◆Benchmarking Cultural and Leisure Facilities during New York Visit

Following Boston, Mayor Oh visited New York to continue benchmarking for the district’s key projects in the 8th term, including ‘cultural and leisure facility development’ and ‘urban regeneration’ projects.

Before the construction of the indoor leisure sports center ‘Jump,’ scheduled to begin design this year and complete in 2025, he visited indoor leisure facilities in Boston to gather detailed ideas for the project. The ideas will be incorporated to create a complex leisure sports space that promotes physical activity for children and youth.

He also toured successful urban regeneration cases such as major public libraries, ‘Chelsea Market’?a revitalized local commercial area converted from an old factory, ‘High Line Park’?a linear park transformed from an elevated railway, and ‘New York Hudson Yards’?a complex development of a railway vehicle depot.

Benchmarking Indoor Leisure Facilities in the United States

On the 20th local time, Mayor Oh visited an indoor leisure facility in New Jersey at 4 p.m. to benchmark advanced cases for creating safe and wholesome sports experience play spaces where children and youth can freely play.

He visited six locations in total, starting with Supercharged Entertainment, which features the world’s largest indoor kart track, fun trampoline jumps, and a vast game lounge, followed by sites in Boston, New Haven, and finally American Dream in New Jersey.

By personally experiencing advanced physical activity spaces such as kart riding, trampolining, and climbing, he gathered ideas to apply to the upcoming youth sports experience facility ‘Jump’ in the district.

‘Jump’ will be built on 252-6 Hagye-dong with a total floor area of 9,048㎡. Design will start this year, aiming for completion in 2025.

Mayor Oh said, “Jump will be a space where children and youth can freely realize their dreams. I am carefully considering how to apply the content facilities I saw in the US to create an activity-rich space full of sights and fun.”

◆Popularity of Nowon Train Village - Swiss Pavilion... Plans to Develop German and Italian Pavilions

On November 17 last year, Nowon District opened the ‘Nowon Train Village - Swiss Pavilion’ at Hwarangdae Railroad Park, exhibiting detailed dioramas and train models.

The newly established Nowon Train Village at Hwarangdae Railroad Park covers 444.71㎡ on the first floor and features an observatory overlooking the entire exhibition hall. It displays meticulously crafted dioramas (scale models) replicating the Alpine mountain peaks and Swiss cities, famous tourist destinations worldwide.

The exhibition includes a 4.4-meter model of the Matterhorn at the center, surrounded by the Jungfrau and Mont Blanc mountain ranges. Visitors can enjoy over 50 dioramas recreating Switzerland’s beautiful natural scenery and famous tourist spots, with train models running between them.

Nowon Train Village Swiss Pavilion

Seventeen moving train models, scaled down to 1/87 of actual trains, run continuously on 410 meters of track with 14 rails installed within the diorama.

The diorama, resembling Switzerland itself, incorporates entertaining stories such as ‘Heidi, Girl of the Alps,’ ‘Avalanche and Rescue Team Dispatch,’ and ‘Lucerne Carnival’ to enhance the exhibition’s appeal.

Similar to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s recent visits to Germany, the UK, Belgium, and other European countries, where he announced major development plans such as the ‘Great Hangang’ project including the Hangang Gondola, Seoul Ring, and swimming pools on the Hangang River, Nowon Mayor Oh Seung-rok is also drawing attention with his successive benchmarking visits.

In particular, the bio-medical complex project at Changdong Vehicle Depot is a large-scale project jointly promoted by Seoul City, Seoul National University Hospital, and Nowon District, and is expected to require collaborative efforts in the future.