Incheon Yeonsu-gu Hambak Village, Reapplying for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Urban Regeneration New Deal Project

Public Hearing for Residents on the 8th, Application for General Neighborhood-Type Wide-Area Contest Next Month
Half of Residents Are Foreigners Including Koryoin... Building a Global Cultural Community
Promoting About 20 Pilot Projects with Themes of Coexistence, Vitality, and Safety

Hambak Village, Yeonsu-gu [Photo by Yeonsu-gu, Incheon]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Yeonsu-gu, Incheon is making another attempt to apply for the Hambak Village Urban Regeneration New Deal Project.

The district announced on the 5th that after going through preparatory procedures such as supplementing activation measures pointed out in last year's metropolitan evaluation, holding a forum for foreign residents in Hambak Village, and reporting on major demands and collaboration matters of Koreans of Central Asian descent and foreigners, it plans to apply for the Urban Regeneration New Deal Project metropolitan competition to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport next month.

Last year, the district participated in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Urban Regeneration New Deal Project competition targeting Angol Village in Cheonghak-dong and Hambak Village in Yeonsu-dong, but only Angol Village was selected as a residential support type project site.

The district will hold a non-face-to-face public hearing on the Hambak Village Urban Regeneration Activation Plan at 2 p.m. on the 8th in the large conference room on the 3rd floor of Yeonsu-gu Office.

Originally, the event was prepared as a discussion with about 60 residents and experts attending, but due to strengthened metropolitan area quarantine management in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the public hearing will be conducted live via Yeonsu-gu Internet Broadcasting Station and YouTube.

Jeon Chanki, former head of the Incheon Urban Regeneration Support Center, will serve as the moderator, with panelists including Lee Yong-an, representative of the Hambak Village community, Jo Sang-woon, senior research fellow at Incheon Research Institute, and Jang Haeyoon, Yeonsu-gu council member. The district distributed public hearing materials translated into Russian in advance for Koreans of Central Asian descent residing in Hambak Village.

Hambak Village is a foreigner-dense area around lot 514, Yeonsu 1-dong, where about 3,700 households reside. Among approximately 10,000 residents, about 4,600 are foreigners including Koreans of Central Asian descent, and population decline is ongoing.

By nationality, residents include Korean-Chinese (33.2%), Kazakhstani (23.5%), Mongolian (12%), Uzbekistani (11.1%), Vietnamese (8.5%), Russian (4.5%), Ukrainian (3.6%), and it is estimated that about 5,400 people including undocumented foreigners live there.

The urban regeneration activation zone for this project covers an area of 121,600㎡, meeting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's selection criteria, and is considered an optimal urban regeneration zone for regional development such as commercial area activation and park revitalization.

Since early this year, the district has reorganized the Hambak Village Urban Regeneration Promotion Team and has been preparing to apply for a general neighborhood-type urban regeneration New Deal project, with over 20 billion KRW invested in the initial funding project alone.

This year's competition is themed around coexistence, vitality, and safety, envisioning a Smile Village where Koreans of Central Asian descent and residents coexist, village landscapes and infrastructure are improved, and all residents feel safe while enjoying diverse cultures together.

In particular, as part of the initial funding project, plans include establishing a Coexistence Center, a World Food Culture Street, a Youth Growth Center, a World Culture Item Workshop, a Childcare Center for Our Children, and an Urban Regeneration Harmony Center.

Additionally, plans include creating a Hambak Village free of garbage, revitalizing the Koreans of Central Asian descent History Park, establishing safe village roads using safe paths and lighting, and designing pavement to slow down alley vehicles to create a safe walking environment.

Furthermore, various local government projects and linked ministry projects will be promoted, including women-friendly city initiatives and shared childcare centers in cooperation with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, as well as cultural urban regeneration projects and multi-family housing purchase and rental projects to be carried out as public enterprise investment projects.

A Yeonsu-gu official stated, "The Hambak Village Urban Regeneration New Deal Project is expected to resolve conflicts between original residents and Koreans of Central Asian descent, revitalize the local economy through village-specialized projects, and create a safe village."

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