Yeongdeungpo District to Rebirth Munrae Neighborhood Park as an Urban Forest Park After 40 Years

Design Finalized After 10 Community Briefings
Construction to Begin in March, Aiming for Completion in May

Yeongdeungpo District in Seoul (District Mayor Choi Hokwon) has finalized the design plan for the Munrae Neighborhood Park improvement construction project, reflecting residents' opinions, and will transform the 40-year-old aging park into an urban forest park.

Example rendering (draft) of Munrae Geunrin Gongwon improvement project. Provided by Yeongdeungpo-gu.

Munrae Neighborhood Park, created in 1986, has long been a source of complaints from residents due to damaged walkways, poor drainage, and aging facilities. The district had been pursuing phased improvements to the 23,611-square-meter park by dividing it into northern and southern sections. However, when some residents raised objections over the construction method planned for the northern section, the district halted all work and restarted the process of gathering public input.

Last year, the district held a total of nine community briefings and, in December, formed a residents' council for the children's playground. On February 2 this year, it finalized the design plan through the 10th and final community briefing.

The core principle of this improvement project is to "preserve what exists and add what is lacking." The district will preserve the existing large trees while planting additional flowers and trees to expand green space. The park will be composed of a Waterlight Forest linked to a water feature, a Play Forest where red berries and autumn foliage blend together, a Flower Garden created with flowering shrubs such as azaleas, and a Pine Forest centered on pine trees. After the construction, the number of large trees will increase by 110 and shrubs by 35,000, allowing the park to be reborn as a much denser forest park.

Aging sports and rest facilities will be completely replaced, and walkways that used to collect water will be upgraded with improved drainage to create more comfortable walking paths. The children's playground will be expanded by dividing the space by age group, including toddlers, lower-grade, and upper-grade elementary school students. Exercise equipment that had been scattered throughout the park will be consolidated into a single sports area with a rain shelter. New lighting will also be installed to improve safety for nighttime use.

The construction will begin in earnest in early March with the installation of safety screens, with completion targeted for May 2026.

Choi Hokwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, said, "Because we had ample discussions with residents over the course of 10 briefings, this park improvement is a result created together with the community," adding, "Faithfully reflecting residents' wishes in policy is the essence of true resident self-governance and the very reason local autonomy exists."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.