'Local Economy + Urban Agriculture'... Gangbuk-gu Opens 'Smart Farm Center'

From Smart Farming Experience and Education
to Direct Sales

Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) announced on the 16th that it held the opening ceremony of the 'Gangbuk Smart Farm Center' (410-5 Beondong) on the 15th and officially began its operation.

The Gangbuk Smart Farm Center is a complex urban agriculture platform built on three above-ground floors with a total floor area of 650㎡. It consists of a first-floor experience cultivation room (aquaponics, leafy vegetables) and direct sales market, a second-floor strawberry specialized cultivation room and education center, and a third-floor leafy vegetable specialized cultivation room.

Lee Soon-hee, the mayor of Gangbuk District, is holding strawberries produced at the Gangbuk Smart Farm and posing for a commemorative photo. Provided by Gangbuk District.

The center operates a system where residents can experience smart farm cultivation and education, as well as directly purchase fresh crops produced on-site through vending machines in the direct sales market. Starting next month, it plans to enhance the practicality and economic feasibility of urban agriculture by operating food trucks for local young entrepreneurs, and supplying to large supermarkets, resorts, and excellent restaurants.

In particular, through cooperation with 'Gangbuk Youth Startup Maru' for incubating young entrepreneurs in the district, the center will showcase menus using smart farm crops at food trucks and serve as a place for startup preparation. Menu development and entrepreneur education will be jointly supported by the contracted company 'Coffee Ganeungseong.' The district plans to establish a virtuous cycle with the local economy by distributing European-style lettuce, arugula, strawberries, and other produce grown at the Smart Farm Center and the Uidong cultivation complex to large supermarkets, resorts, and excellent restaurants in the 4·19 Cafe Street area.

The Gangbuk Smart Farm Center operates daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is closed every Monday. Experience programs can be applied for through Seoul Public Service Reservation starting in May.

Meanwhile, about 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including the mayor, members of the National Assembly, city and district council members, the president and faculty of Seoul Cyber University, representatives from partner organizations such as Lotte Mart, Paraspara Seoul, Coffee Ganeungseong, and local residents.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee stated, "The Gangbuk Smart Farm Center is a Gangbuk-type regional economic growth hub that combines youth startups, urban agriculture, and experience programs," adding, "We will continue to discover and expand effective projects that residents can directly feel."