Gwangju City Selects 'Park Planning Team' as Employee of the Month

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced that it selected the Park Planning Team of the Park and Greenery Division (Administrative Officer Seong In-seop and Officer Ma Jin-yeol) as the ‘Civil Servants of the Month’ for October and awarded them at the regular November assembly held on the 2nd.

They were recognized for their contribution in establishing the ‘UNESCO Global Geopark East Asia Platform’ and leading negotiations to relocate the National Geopark Office under the National Park Service of the Ministry of Environment to the East Asia Platform.

The Park Planning Team planned to build the East Asia Platform in Gwangju, responsible for domestic and international exchanges related to geoparks, educational programs, exhibitions, and research, following the designation of the Mudeungsan Geopark as a UNESCO Global Geopark in April 2018.

While conducting feasibility studies and basic planning services, they continuously met with and persuaded officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who were initially reluctant to agree to the unfamiliar task of geoparks, ultimately gaining their understanding.

They shared the necessity of the East Asia Platform, completed administrative procedures including the Ministry of Environment’s promise of national funding support, confirmation of the relocation of the National Geopark Office, completion of local finance central investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and approval of the new project by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, playing a key role in securing a future blue ocean by utilizing the globally emerging resource of geoparks.

The East Asia Platform is being constructed within the Gwangju Ecological Cultural Village by the lakeside of Gwangju, with a total project cost of 32.7 billion KRW (15.8 billion KRW national funds, 16.9 billion KRW city funds). It will be a complex facility on a 6,800㎡ site with a total floor area of 7,980㎡, consisting of two underground and two above-ground floors, including exchange spaces, educational halls, exhibition and experience centers, and research and monitoring facilities. The 800 million KRW detailed design cost for next year has been confirmed as government budget.

Once completed, the National Geopark Office, which will relocate here, is an agency under the Ministry of Environment that oversees 13 national geoparks and 4 global geoparks domestically, providing systematic education and training programs, fostering professional personnel, facilitating knowledge exchange, and managing national and global geoparks.

Alongside the National Geopark Office, the Mudeungsan UNESCO Global Geopark Integrated Headquarters, which forms one pillar within the East Asia Platform, is being promoted as a win-win cooperation project between Gwangju City and Jeonnam Province. It will be responsible for operating exhibition halls, monitoring and researching geological heritage, and providing education, rest, and promotion services to geopark visitors.

Administrative Officer Seong In-seop said, “At first, it felt like hitting a wall, but through continuous persuasion and understanding of central government officials, we secured a project with future value. Once the East Asia Platform is built, it can leap forward as a hub for exchange, education, and training of global geoparks in Korea and East Asia in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment. We expect it to greatly contribute to regional development through the protection of Mudeungsan geological heritage and sustainable use of resources.”

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