Creating an Urban Forest in Yongin Pogok the Size of 7 Soccer Fields

Yongin City to Invest 2 Billion KRW Including National Funds Along Gyeongan Stream
Large-Scale Lawn Plaza and Rest Area Planned

A large-scale 'urban forest' the size of seven soccer fields will be created along the Gyeongan Stream in Samgye-ri, Pogok-eup, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do.

An urban forest is a forest established for the mental and physical health of city residents. Representative examples include Seoul Forest in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and Yangjae Citizen's Forest in Yangjae-dong.

On the 20th, Yongin City announced that an area of 48,300㎡ at 91-1 Samgye-ri, Pogok-eup, Cheoin-gu, was selected as a candidate site for the '2024 Han River Watershed Riverside Green Space Creation' contest by the Han River Basin Environmental Office. The city explained that this selection is the second urban forest project following the 8,000㎡ urban forest project at 234-2 Yubang-dong, Cheoin-gu, in April.

This project is a collaboration between the Han River Basin Environmental Office and local governments to create urban forests using national and public land within the Han River watershed to improve water quality of water sources and provide green spaces for citizens.

With this contest selection, the city will receive 1 billion KRW in national funding. The city plans to invest a total of 2 billion KRW by adding 300 million KRW from the provincial government and 700 million KRW from the city budget to create a large-scale lawn plaza and resting areas in this area by next year, establishing an urban park.

In particular, the contest selection allows the use of land owned by the Ministry of Environment, resulting in savings of approximately 14.7 billion KRW (based on official land prices) in land acquisition costs, the city added.

The city plans to plant various species of trees and herbaceous plants in the newly created urban forest and install convenience facilities such as pergolas and benches. Especially, diverse opinions from citizens will be reflected during the park planning stage.

Lee Sang-il, mayor of Yongin City, said, "Through this project, we will be able to expand the large-scale flatland park that has been lacking in Cheoin-gu," and added, "We will pay special attention to the park creation to make a wonderful urban forest where citizens can relax and enjoy their leisure time."