Press Briefing for Journalists Held at Yeongsangang River Garden Construction Site
"Citizen-Participatory Garden" Concept... 570,000 Pyeong National Garden Development
Full Effort to Promote 'Tourism Landmark' Including Uibyeong Spirit Memorial and Educational Space
On the 22nd, Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju, held a press briefing at the Yeongsangang Garden construction site to explain key city administration issues such as the "Yeongsangang Garden Construction" and the "Naju Yeongsangang Festival." [Photo by Naju City]
Yoon Byung-tae, former mayor of Naju City in Jeollanam-do, expressed his ambition to open an era of 5 million Naju tourists by utilizing the Yeongsan River Garden.
On the 22nd, according to Naju City, Mayor Yoon held an on-site briefing on major city administration issues to realize the era of 5 million Naju tourists, which he has emphasized as a key driving force for regional development in the 8th local government, and shared it with journalists.
The briefing was held at the Yeongsan River Garden construction site with about 70 journalists in attendance.
Mayor Yoon revealed the "Progress and Vision of the Yeongsan River Garden Construction Project," "Basic Direction of the 2024 Naju Yeongsan River Festival," and "Progress of the Namdo Uibyung History Park Construction Project," requesting active interest and cooperation from journalists for the successful promotion of these projects.
Naju City was selected in December 2022 for the Regional Integrated River Project, a public contest by the Ministry of Environment, and is promoting the Yeongsan River Garden construction project to reinforce flood control such as the Yeongsan River reservoir embankment, improve water quality, and secure waterfront spaces.
The Yeongsan River Garden is the first phase project for national garden designation. Naju City plans to apply for a local garden project to Jeollanam-do this year and aims to upgrade it to a national garden after operating the local garden for more than three years.
In line with the timing of the 2024 Naju Yeongsan River Festival this year, the city is promoting the development of a festival plaza, themed gardens, parking lots, picnic areas, access bridges, and expansion of embankment roads on about 100,000 pyeong of the river reservoir.
The core concept of the Yeongsan River Garden presented by Mayor Yoon is a "garden where citizens participate." The plan is to decorate the garden through a tree and garden material donation system and create a garden that citizens build and nurture together through naming contests and citizen gardener training.
Through the donation system, about 7,000 trees worth approximately 8.5 billion KRW were secured from the second half of last year to April this year, and about 80% of the trees have been planted.
The second phase project and the ultimate goal, the Yeongsan River National Garden project, will expand the garden size up to 570,000 pyeong eastward from the currently constructed garden at the reservoir.
They plan to create a differentiated garden including theme gardens such as reed forests and flower beds, resting spaces, and various leisure experience facilities.
Mayor Yoon said, "While promoting the national garden project as a waterfront project, we are also consulting with the Ministry of Environment to proceed with six flood control projects, including reservoir dredging to increase storage capacity and reinforcement of the Yeongsan River embankment."
The city plans to hold its representative festival, the "2024 Naju Yeongsan River Festival," around the Yeongsan River Garden area, starting with a pre-festival on October 8 and continuing for five days from the 9th to the 13th.
Mayor Yoon explained the infrastructure development status for using the Yeongsan River Garden as a permanent festival venue, the festival schedule, and major programs, and introduced Park Myung-sung, the general director appointed on April 8.
Mayor Yoon said, "Through the creation of the Yeongsan River Garden, Naju now has a permanent festival venue with sufficient facilities and scale," adding, "We plan to secure ample parking space, which was previously considered insufficient during past festivals."
Currently, 1,478 parking spaces have been secured, and an additional 500 spaces will be added, so about 2,000 vehicles are expected to be able to park simultaneously during the festival in October.
Additionally, by August, they plan to expand the embankment roads and access bridges toward Bitgaram-dong and Yeongsanpo to facilitate smooth two-way traffic for buses and vehicles.
Mayor Yoon announced that this year’s festival will be organized around four themes: "Cultural Arts Festival," "Integrated Festival," "Resident Participation Festival," and "Generational Empathy Festival."
They plan to create a premium integrated festival by including new events such as the pet festival and marathon, along with the agricultural festa, which received great response last year, and adding resident participation programs like singing contests in towns and villages.
Mayor Yoon also revealed the background of the site selection, progress, key issues, and future plans for the Namdo Uibyung History Park construction project, a Jeollanam-do pledge project to honor the patriotic spirit of the Namdo militia.
In particular, he provided detailed explanations on the progress of the Namdo Uibyung History Park, including the Namdo Uibyung History Museum and the utilization plan for the second phase project site based on the recommendation to dismantle the Goguryeo Palace drama set submitted recently by the Naju Citizens’ Rights Committee.
Mayor Yoon said, "Based on the policy recommendation from the Citizens’ Rights Committee, we plan to dismantle the Goguryeo Palace set and consult with Jeollanam-do on the second phase project plan and tourism revitalization research."
The city plans to recycle materials such as roof tiles, wood, and stone generated from the set appropriately and continuously discover related projects around infrastructure expansion, including the construction of a bridge on Local Road 801 (Gongsan-Dasi) for museum activation and the creation of the Yeongsan River Dayatteul Waterfront Park.
Mayor Yoon stated, "We will develop the Yeongsan River Garden into a 570,000-pyeong national garden larger than Suncheonman Garden and Ulsan Taehwa River Garden, using the 2024 Naju Yeongsan River Festival as a starting point to achieve the era of 5 million Naju tourists."
He added, "We will do our best to promote the project so that the Namdo Uibyung History Museum becomes a memorial site honoring the spirit of Korean militias, an educational space for descendants, and a representative tourist landmark of Uihyang Naju."
Naju = Kim Yuk-bong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr
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