Recognition for Jeojeon-dong Garden Village's Model of Enhancing Regional Competitiveness
Suncheon City in South Jeolla Province announced on the 19th that it received the Presidential Award at the "2025 Korea Land Grand Prize," hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and the Architectural Space Research Institute.
Suncheon City received the Presidential Award at the "2025 Korea Land Grand Prize" hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and the Architectural Space Research Institute. Photo by Suncheon City
The "Korea Land Grand Prize" is a prestigious competition that discovers and awards outstanding examples of spatial design that enhance the quality of national landscapes and contribute to improving the quality of life for citizens. The competition is held across eight categories: cultural landscapes, streets and plazas, residential, commercial, and business complexes, public architecture, public design, social infrastructure, special categories, and landscape administration.
Suncheon City entered the special category, "Spatial Design for Enhancing Regional Competitiveness," with its project "Vita-min Community Embracing Gardens, Jeojeon-gol." The project was selected as an outstanding winner after passing expert document reviews, on-site evaluations, and a public vote.
The Jeojeon-dong regeneration project, carried out from 2018 to 2022 with an investment of 19.7 billion won, transformed the declining old downtown of Jeojeon-dong into a new resident community and cultural space centered around gardens. Even after the project’s completion, it has continued through a resident-led operational system centered on the "Vitamin Jeojeon-gol Village Cooperative."
Nineteen gardens were created, including "Theme Pocket Gardens" utilizing vacant houses and idle land, "Rainwater Street Gardens" that solved flooding issues, "Neighbor Gardens" that opened up private home walls, and "History Gardens" connecting schools, villages, and religious facilities. In addition, the city established the "Vitamin Center," which brings together all generations in collaboration with schools, "Youth Rental Housing - Saerowa" to attract young people, "Village Hotel - Eoyeowa" to revitalize the neighborhood, and a specialized alleyway commercial district, injecting new vitality into the declining area.
The Jeojeon-dong Garden Village surpassed a cumulative 40,000 visitors from 2023 to 2025 and has emerged as a local cultural and tourism hub through strengthened resident-led management. The city also plans to continue its growth through a resident-participatory school regeneration model.
Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu stated, "I am delighted that our efforts to create people-centered spaces together with the local community have been recognized at the Korea Land Grand Prize," emphasizing, "We will continue to work on strengthening the brand value of Suncheon as a sustainable garden city."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
