[Feature] Suncheon, the Central City of the Southern Coastal Namjung Region: Gardens Generate Revenue, the City Offers Rest

Transforming into a City Where People Want to Stay and Return
A Surge of Leading Shipbuilding, Distribution, and Content Companies
Balanced Development Between the Old and New Downtowns

Suncheon, located in South Jeolla Province, is not just a city to visit for its gardens. In 2025, the city underwent a major transformation, simultaneously changing its industry, content, ecology, and daily life, and completed the establishment of a garden-based economic ecosystem.

Panoramic view of Suncheonman Garden. Provided by Suncheon City

There is a reason why Costco chose to open in this city. The first Costco in Gwangju and South Jeolla, Yeosu MBC, and Hanwha Ocean Ecotech all selected Suncheon.

Leading companies representing the shipbuilding, distribution, and content industries have chosen Suncheon. With an annual influx of 13 million people and the creation of over 250 jobs, Suncheon has now begun to function as the consumption and economic hub of the southern coastal region of the Namhaean Namjung area.

Content has revitalized the once-darkened original downtown. Thirty-seven animation, webtoon, and video companies have moved into the old city center. This is backed by a 90.5 billion won content strategy fund and a 30 billion won talent development infrastructure. On weekends, cars disappear from the city center, grass is laid down, and a "Weekend Square" attracting 150,000 people comes to life. The old downtown has once again become a place where people gather.

Ocheon Green Square 'Alltenga' Event Scene. Provided by Suncheon City

Suncheon's first satellite, "Suncheon SAT," is scheduled to be loaded onto the Nuri rocket in 2027. Preparing to become the first satellite development city in the Honam region, Suncheon is shifting its focus from a "ground city" to a space economy city. In addition, a smart city project worth 8 billion won in national funding has been added.

Agriculture is now bio-based. Suncheon has been designated a green bio-industry development zone. A cluster that covers everything from research to demonstration and commercialization is already in operation. By 2027, production facilities and a knowledge industry center will be established, evolving Suncheon's agriculture into a high-value-added industry.

As a globally recognized ecological city, gardens have transformed Suncheon. It became the first basic local government in Korea to join the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Suncheon is the city that best implements Nature-based Solutions (NbS). The results are proven by numbers: Suncheon ranks first in the Honam region in the Korean Health Index and first among basic local governments in the Sustainable Development ESG evaluation.

Suncheon, the only city embracing both sea and land, is on the verge of becoming the world's only city to have both the Yeojaman National Marine Ecological Park and both an inland national garden and a marine ecological park at the same time.

As a result, "healing" has become a part of daily life, not just tourism. The revival of the city's waterways through the Dongcheon Greenway and the maintenance of the Shindaecheon stream have contributed to this transformation. The healing travel brand "Shillange," Yonggye Mountain Healing Forest, and youth equestrian competitions are all making Suncheon a city people visit to relax.

In particular, there are remarkable scenes that have decisively changed the lives of citizens. The National Garden attracts 4 million visitors annually, generating 11 billion won in revenue. With this revenue, every citizen received a 200,000 won livelihood recovery grant. The Suncheon Love Gift Certificate recorded annual sales of 207 billion won, with more than 1,200 new affiliated stores. The money earned from the gardens is returned to the citizens, making the garden economy a real source of living expenses.

Sports have also become a competitive advantage for the city. Outdated sports facilities have been converted into a future-oriented comprehensive sports park, securing 4 billion won in national funding. This has laid the foundation for everything from community sports to off-season training camps.

Leaving behind years of conflict, Suncheon has transformed waste into energy through public resource facilities, and the Yeonhyangdeul urban development is becoming a new landmark connected to Suncheonman National Garden. The city uses AI to monitor and assist those at risk of dying alone, and St. Carollo Hospital has established a 24-hour emergency system for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Therefore, Suncheon is now evolving from a tourist destination to a residential city, from a garden city to an economic city, and from a regional city to the central hub of the southern coastal Namjung area. In 2025, Suncheon is no longer "just a place to visit once," but a city where people want to stay and return to again.