Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Choi Ho-gwon Create 'Garden City'... 'Southwest Area Grand Renovation Plan'... Achieving a 'Fantastic Combo' in Many Aspects Including Raising Residential Ratio to 10% in Commercial Area Reconstruction, Marking a Revolutionary Turning Point for Yeongdeungpo Development, Residents' Evaluations Draw Attention
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Seoul International Garden Expo held at Hangang Ttukseom Park on the 16th. Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu (wearing a hat), who received the Excellence Award for Garden Coordination from Mayor Oh Se-hoon (center), is immediately to the left.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon attract attention for their seamless cooperation in everything they do.
Since taking office in the 8th term of the civilian government, Mayor Oh announced the ‘Great Hangang’ project, the second version of the Hangang Renaissance, and declared the construction of the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Yeouido Park, Yeongdeungpo District.
As the National Assembly plans to relocate to Sejong City, Yeouido, the core area of Yeongdeungpo District, is certain to develop into a global financial special zone, and the construction of the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is expected to write a new chapter in Yeouido’s history.
Building the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on the old Bangnim Spinning site in Mullae-dong (about 4,000 pyeong) was judged unsuitable in terms of site size and accessibility.
In this context, Mayor Oh’s gift of the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Yeouido has allowed Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon to make another significant mark in the history of Yeongdeungpo District.
Mayor Choi recently opened the ‘Mullae Flower Garden’ on one-third of the old Bangnim Spinning site in Mullae-dong, which was warmly welcomed by the residents. On the remaining two-thirds of the site, he plans to build the ‘Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center.’
◇Mayor Oh Se-hoon Proclaims ‘Garden City, Seoul’... Mayor Choi Ho-kwon Declares ‘Garden City, Yeongdeungpo’
Thus, Mayor Oh will provide two cultural facilities to Yeongdeungpo District: the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Yeouido and the Yeongdeungpo Mullae Arts Center, enhancing Yeongdeungpo’s status as Seoul’s only cultural special zone.
When Mayor Oh announced the ambitious plan to make Seoul a ‘Garden City’ by turning various parts of the city into gardens, Mayor Choi echoed this by declaring Yeongdeungpo as a ‘Garden City,’ drawing attention.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon explained the plan to promote the 'Garden City Seoul' at the Seoul City Hall briefing room on the 24th of last month. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@
From May 23 to October 8, Mayor Oh is hosting the ‘2024 Seoul International Garden Expo’ around Ttukseom Hangang Park.
On the 23rd, at the picnic stage in Ttukseom Hangang Park, Mayor Oh held the ‘Garden City Seoul Talk Concert’ and said, “The idea for the ‘Garden City Seoul’ policy started from the desire to create a city where you can enjoy green spaces just by opening your door and stepping outside.”
Meanwhile, on the 22nd, Mayor Choi held a proclamation ceremony for Yeongdeungpo District as a garden city?the only Seoul district without mountains?and declared plans to plant flowers and trees along streets, alleys, rivers, and small unused spaces, creating oasis-like gardens where residents can enjoy leisure.
At a press briefing that day, Mayor Choi said, “The image of a city creates its competitiveness,” and added, “We will transform the old and worn-out image of the district, densely packed with iron powder-emitting metal workshops, into a new ‘young city Yeongdeungpo’ where residents can enjoy garden culture in their daily lives by creating a ‘Garden City.’”
He especially defined gardens as “cultural and artistic works using nature, spaces of leisure and happiness, and healing spaces for a healthy daily life,” and pledged, “We will create specialized gardens unique to Yeongdeungpo by introducing artistic landscaping designs that incorporate local artists’ works and natural elements, allowing residents to encounter rest and art throughout their daily lives.”
As the first step toward becoming a garden city, Yeongdeungpo District opened the ‘Mullae-dong Flower Garden’ on May 8 on one-third of the old Bangnim Spinning site, which had been unused for 23 years and blocked by material warehouses and fences. This marks the beginning of a change in Yeongdeungpo’s image and serves as a symbolic space. Going forward, Yeongdeungpo aims to transform into a completely new young city surpassing the past 100 years by developing as a garden city, cultural city, and health and healing city.
Once a manufacturing-centered district that achieved the Hangang Miracle with companies like Bangnim Spinning, Yeongdeungpo District has declared it will open a ‘Yeongdeungpo Renaissance Era,’ a second Hangang Miracle, blending jobs, housing, culture, and gardens into a premium city.
Choi Ho-gwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, is smiling brightly while attending the first Garden Festival held at Yeongdeungpo Park on the 24th.
Mayor Oh’s active push for creating ‘Garden City Seoul’ is known to have been inspired by Mayor Choi’s article last year, which reported on his visit to the site before the Suncheonman International Garden Expo at the end of April and his inquiries to Suncheon Mayor Noh Kwan-gyu about the expo’s significance and process.
◇Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s ‘Southwest Area Grand Renovation Plan’ Also Provides a Turning Point for Yeongdeungpo’s Development
On February 27, Mayor Oh announced the Southwest Area Grand Renovation Plan, aiming to transform the formerly manufacturing-centered but now declining semi-industrial area into a future-oriented advanced and convergence industry cluster. The plan includes easing the floor area ratio for old residential areas mixed within the semi-industrial zone up to 400%, creating residential areas close to workplaces with added green spaces and convenience facilities, turning Anyangcheon into a waterfront park, and Yeouido Park into an urban cultural park to secure green and cultural spaces.
This announcement was immediately interpreted as a strategic move for Yeongdeungpo’s development. Yeongdeungpo’s semi-industrial area accounts for 20% of the district’s total area?the highest ratio among Seoul’s districts at 25%?raising great expectations for the Seoul Southwest Area development plan.
Yeongdeungpo District promptly issued a press release welcoming the plan.
◇Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon Shows Determination by Raising Residential Ratio in Commercial Area Reconstruction to 90% and Lowering Commercial Facilities to 10% to Enhance Project Feasibility
Along with this, after Mayor Oh’s inauguration, the floor area ratio was significantly increased to allow reconstruction in Yeouido, making Yeongdeungpo District likely the biggest beneficiary among Seoul’s districts under Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Meanwhile, Mayor Choi met with Yoo Chang-soo, Deputy Mayor for Administration 2 and a close aide of Mayor Oh, to revise the Seoul city ordinance regarding reconstruction projects in commercial areas, which previously mandated 80% apartments and 20% commercial facilities.
Mayor Choi said, “I proposed revising the ordinance to 90% apartments and 10% commercial facilities to keep pace with the era of online shopping, where traditional stores are shrinking. Ultimately, Seoul City accepted this, and I am grateful.”
Residents pushing for Yeouido reconstruction projects warmly welcomed this change.
As Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Yeongdeungpo District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon smoothly resolve issues one after another, their ‘brotherly’ image is earning applause from the residents.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
