Seoul Gangseo-gu, South Korea Receives Special Award in Urban Awards

Highly Praised for Promoting Bicycle Use and Revitalizing Gaehwasan... Efforts in Bicycle Road Maintenance, Expansion of Safety Facilities, and Improvement of Usage Facilities... Revitalization of Gaehwasan Using Discharged Groundwater Also Well Received

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) received a special award in the urban environment category at the '2020 Korea Urban Awards.'

Hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Urban Awards evaluate the achievements of 229 local governments nationwide over the past year in their efforts toward sustainable balanced urban development and providing residents with a pleasant living environment.

The district received high scores in the urban environment category for initiatives such as 'promoting bicycle use' and 'revitalizing Gaehwasan using discharged groundwater.'

To promote bicycle use, the district actively worked on ▲maintaining bicycle roads ▲expanding bicycle safety facilities ▲operating bicycle mobile repair centers ▲repairing illegally abandoned bicycles.

Last year, the district extended bicycle roads to a total of 41.11 km and installed or maintained about 400 bicycle racks.

Additionally, they paid close attention to the safety of bicycle users by implementing anti-slip pavement for bicycles, installing bicycle crosswalks, and setting up solar-powered LED markers to prevent nighttime accidents.

In particular, safety fences were installed along an 836m section in the Magok district, where traffic volume is increasing, and a 172m section near Jeonggok Elementary School, which is vulnerable in terms of safety, to ensure safe use.

Furthermore, the 'Gaehwasan Revitalization' project utilizing discharged groundwater was highly evaluated as a case leading urban environmental improvement by using a resource that was being lost.

This project draws discharged groundwater to Gaehwasan, which lacks water sources, and uses it for wildfire prevention and as ecological stream water, creating artificial waterfalls and ecological waterways to develop a water purification and waterfront park.

Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, “I believe this achievement is the result of efforts based on the district administration philosophy of pursuing harmonious growth,” and added, “We will continue to listen to residents’ opinions and implement more diverse policies for sustainable development.”

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