Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk to Jointly Host Honam Tourism and Culture Week

Heads of Planning and Coordination from Three Cities and Provinces
Hold Working Council at ACC

The 'Honam Region Megacity Economic Alliance Working Council,' aimed at revitalizing the Honam economy and promoting mutual development, was held on the 14th at the National Asia Culture Center, led by the chiefs of planning and coordination offices from three cities and provinces: Gwangju, Jeonnam Province, and Jeonbuk Province. Photo by Gwangju City

Gwangju City announced on the 16th that it held the 'Honam Region Megacity Economic Alliance Working Council' at the National Asia Culture Center (ACC) on the 14th, together with Jeonnam Province and Jeonbuk Province, to promote economic revitalization and mutual development in the Honam region.

The Working Council is an organization established to discuss and implement the 'Honam Region Megacity Economic Alliance Joint Declaration' and priority projects agreed upon by Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk on July 4 last year. It is operated under the leadership of the heads of Planning and Coordination Offices from the three cities and provinces.

This was the second meeting of the council since September 20 last year, attended by Lee Byungcheol, Head of the Gwangju Planning and Coordination Office, Jang Heonbeom, Head of the Jeonnam Planning and Coordination Office, Chun Youngpyeong, Head of the Jeonbuk Planning and Coordination Office, as well as about 20 officials including heads of departments from each city and province and members of the working task force (TF) for each division (Industry/Economy, Construction/SOC, Culture/Tourism, Exchange/Cooperation).

During the meeting, participants shared trends in administrative integration initiatives of other regions in response to the dominance of the Seoul metropolitan area, and discussed ways to establish an implementation system for the Honam Region Megacity Economic Alliance Joint Declaration. They also exchanged opinions on key tasks and budget-sharing measures to ensure the implementation system could efficiently carry out the joint declaration. Progress on division-specific tasks identified last September and new agenda items proposed as new tasks were also reviewed and discussed.

New tasks proposed included: by Jeonbuk, the West Coast Railway (Saemangeum~Mokpo), cultural performance exchanges to promote the spirit of Donghak, and the bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics; and by Gwangju, the Year of Visiting Gwangju. The parties agreed to review and cooperate on areas of mutual interest.

The three cities and provinces agreed to conduct thorough analysis and division-level discussions on newly identified joint tasks and matters from the joint declaration that require further review for the creation of the Honam Region Megacity. They also agreed to actively seek to include necessary budgets for relevant tasks in their respective local government budgets.

Lee Byungcheol, Head of the Gwangju Planning and Coordination Office, said, "The role of the Honam Region Megacity Economic Alliance is extremely important in responding to the dominance of the Seoul metropolitan area and the crisis of local extinction," adding, "We will strive to ensure that the three cities and provinces can prosper together."

Jang Heonbeom, Head of the Jeonnam Planning and Coordination Office, stated, "The crisis of local extinction is difficult to overcome with the resources and capabilities of a single local government alone," and added, "By solidifying the Honam region's status as a partner in mutual development, we will actively cooperate in various collaborative projects to make it a pillar of balanced development in Korea."

Chun Youngpyeong, Head of the Jeonbuk Planning and Coordination Office, emphasized, "If Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gwangju join forces to leverage each other's strengths and cooperate, the Honam region can achieve even greater development," and added, "We will continue to work together for the development of Honam through ongoing communication and cooperation."