Gwangmyeong City Emerges as a Leading City in Climate Response and Lifelong Learning Policies

384 Benchmarking Cases by Local Governments and Institutions Since the 8th Administration
Achievements Driven by Increased Citizen Participation in Policy Development and Implementation

Local governments and institutions across the country are increasingly benchmarking Gwangmyeong City’s climate response and lifelong learning policies. Analysts attribute this trend to the city’s notable achievements, which have been driven by active citizen participation throughout the policy-making and implementation processes.

At the "500-Person Roundtable Discussion" organized by Gwangmyeong City to incorporate citizens' voices into various policies, Mayor Seungwon Park is discussing policy ideas with students. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

According to Gwangmyeong City on October 30, since the launch of the 8th popularly elected administration, major local governments and institutions have conducted a total of 384 benchmarking cases across 45 policy areas regarding Gwangmyeong City. During this period, there were 106 direct visits to the city, including 10 visits by foreign organizations from countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and Spain.

The city analyzed that benchmarking of Gwangmyeong’s policies has been concentrated in areas such as carbon neutrality and resource circulation (92 cases), lifelong learning (58 cases), youth (52 cases), and adolescents (31 cases).

In particular, Gwangmyeong Upcycle Art Center, a resource circulation facility operated by the city, has received 66 visits. The city also reported a high number of visits to other carbon neutrality facilities, such as the Net Zero Energy Cafe and the Climate Volunteer Support Center.

The city’s Lifelong Learning Center was also visited 50 times. As the first city in the country to be certified as a lifelong learning city in 2001, Gwangmyeong’s Lifelong Learning Center serves as a hub for lifelong education. In 2023, the city enacted the Lifelong Learning Support Fund Ordinance and has since continued to expand lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens and generations.

The city cited the promotion of sustainable policies through active citizen participation as the driving force behind these achievements.

To further strengthen the lifelong learning ecosystem, the city is nurturing local activists who learn about sustainable urban values centered around the “Local University” and put them into practice in their daily lives.

In response to the climate crisis, the city is also implementing a variety of policies to encourage voluntary citizen participation. Based on these efforts, 15.7% of Gwangmyeong’s citizens participated in “Climate Action Opportunity Income,” a daily climate response initiative by Gyeonggi Province, making the city the top performer in the province.

The city has also achieved differentiated results in resource circulation. Last year, Gwangmyeong became the first in the nation to implement a “free customized collection of waste electronics by residential type” system, which dramatically increased the recycling rate of waste electronics. While only 22 tons (23%) of waste electronics were recycled in 2023, the city achieved a record by recycling the entire 541 tons this year.

Mayor Park Seungwon stated, “The fact that practitioners from local governments, who are directly responsible for implementing policies, are coming to Gwangmyeong to learn demonstrates the practical excellence and applicability of our policies. Moving forward, we will continue to build a sustainable urban model led by citizens and pave the way for local autonomy that enables nationwide growth.”