Vietnam Quy Nhon Road Awarded Korean Institute of Urban Design President's Award

Yongsan-gu Recognized for Achievements in Vietnam Quy Nhon Road Development Project, Receives Korean Urban Design Society President's Award at Korea Land Grand Prize

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) received the 2020 Korea Land Grand Prize Korean Urban Design Society President’s Award on the 16th for the ‘Vietnam Quy Nhon-gil Theme Street Development Project’.

The Korea Land Grand Prize is an event hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and organized by eight institutions including the Korean Urban Design Society, evaluating and awarding excellent cases of domestic landscape design.

The award ceremony was held at the Korea Institute of Architects in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and Seo Bong-wan, Director of the Administrative Support Bureau of the district office, attended the ceremony.

Vietnam Quy Nhon-gil refers to a 335-meter section around 59 Bogwang-ro-gil in Yongsan-gu. In 2016, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the friendship exchange between Yongsan-gu and Quy Nhon City, the district carried out projects here including ▲ pedestrian environment improvement (road paving) ▲ public facility design improvement (murals, sculptures) ▲ street environment maintenance ▲ installation of landscape lighting ▲ park creation.

First, the district created a pattern of lotus flowers, the national flower of Vietnam, on the road surface, and engraved traditional Vietnamese patterns on the lighting poles. In the center of Quy Nhon Street, Quy Nhon Garden, a sculpture shaped like a ‘non’ (Vietnamese traditional conical hat) was installed.

Also, murals that evoke Vietnam were painted throughout the street, attracting attention as many Vietnamese international students, marriage immigrants, and corporate volunteers participated. The alley connecting Quy Nhon-gil and Itaewon-ro was also renovated.

Quy Nhon City is a port city in central Vietnam. The Yongsan delegation first visited Quy Nhon in 1996 and established a sister city relationship the following year. Since then, the two cities have engaged in various exchange projects such as the ‘Vietnam Outstanding Student Study Abroad Support Project,’ ‘Building Houses of Love,’ and ‘Sejong Institute Operation,’ and notably made a mark in urban diplomacy history with the creation of Vietnam Quy Nhon-gil commemorating the 20th anniversary.

At the same time, Quy Nhon created ‘Yongsan Street,’ the first street in Vietnam named after a foreign city.

Quy Nhon-gil is one of several themed streets located in Itaewon. Besides Quy Nhon-gil, the World Food Street (27 Itaewon-ro-gil) and Antique Furniture Street (Bogwang-ro, 26 Noksapyeong-daero-gil) also attract visitors.

Since April, the district has been working on refurbishing Vietnam Quy Nhon-gil and World Food Street. With an investment of 1.5 billion KRW in road and sidewalk maintenance and design facilities (lighting, stairs, murals), the project is scheduled to be completed by October.

Vietnam Quy Nhon Road

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “The Vietnam Quy Nhon-gil development project has been recognized for its achievements by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and others,” adding, “The district will continue to do its best to make Itaewon even more new and vibrant.”

This year marks the 12th anniversary of the Korea Land Grand Prize, which received a total of 121 submissions. Professors and field experts representing eight academic societies and institutions selected 25 award-winning works through document and on-site evaluations.

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