Gwangju Dong-gu Selected as the Happiest City in Honam Region

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 15th that it ranked first in happiness index among all cities and counties in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk according to the 'Korea Happiness Map' released by Statistics Korea.

On the 25th of last month, Statistics Korea, in collaboration with the National Assembly Future Institute and the Korean Society for Quality of Life, hosted the '6th National Quality of Life Measurement Forum' and unveiled the 'Korea Happiness Map,' which derived happiness indices for 228 cities and counties nationwide.

As a result, Dong-gu received high evaluations in five categories: health, environment, education, leisure, and life satisfaction, earning an A grade and ranking first in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk, and ninth nationwide.

The Korea Happiness Map was created based on the national happiness index derived from eight areas: ▲health ▲safety ▲environment ▲economy ▲education ▲relationships and social participation ▲leisure ▲subjective life satisfaction.

Each indicator was derived by synthesizing city and county data released by Statistics Korea, population and housing census items, and central government statistical databases.

Dong-gu was analyzed as having excellent urban infrastructure, a rich cultural environment, and a natural environment blessed by the old downtown area.

It has well-developed transportation access in all directions, large medical facilities, excellent school districts, and central commercial areas, enabling convenient daily life.

Additionally, centered around the National Asian Culture Complex, the largest integrated cultural space in Korea, there are museums, cinemas, and galleries lined up, and specialized streets such as the cafe street, Asian food culture street, and barley rice street offer unique leisure experiences.

Moreover, Mudeungsan National Park, the symbolic mountain of Gwangju, is nearby, and natural environments such as Pureungil Park and Gwangju Stream greatly contribute to the healthy physical activities of local residents.

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, “We are making various efforts such as creating a humanities city, establishing a women, children, and elderly-friendly city, and setting welfare guidelines to become a city where all residents are happy,” adding, “Through urban regeneration incorporating culture and arts, we will transform Gwangju into a representative cultural tourism city and a happy city with a promising future.”

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