Yeosu City Creates Public Art Project 'Seomseom Yeosu Nangdo Gaengbeon Art Street'

Art Installation Transforms Neighborhood Art Museum

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City (Mayor Kwon Oh-bong) announced on the 25th that it held a completion ceremony on the 22nd for the creation of the ‘Seomseom Yeosu Nangdo Gaengbeon Art Trail’ on Nangdo Island, Hwajeong-myeon, also known as Fox Island.

The ‘Seomseom Yeosu Nangdo Gaengbeon Art Trail’ is a public art project aimed at creating jobs for local cultural artists and providing residents with opportunities to enjoy culture. The 3km village road in Yeo-san Village, Nangdo, Hwajeong-myeon, has been decorated with village rest areas, photo zones for taking memorable pictures, sculptures and murals on village walls with artistic elements, artworks by artists, and photos of village residents.

The completion ceremony was held with a minimal number of attendees to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including Yeosu Mayor Kwon Oh-bong, Yeosu City Council Chairman Jeon Chang-gon, National Assembly member Kim Hoe-jae, and participating artists from the Yeosu branch of the Korea Fine Arts Association, which carried out the project.

This project was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Jeollanam-do Province, and organized by Yeosu City, with a total investment of 400 million KRW. The Yeosu branch of the Korea Fine Arts Association (Branch Chief Park Dong-hwa), selected through a public contest, was responsible for the execution.

The Yeosu branch of the Korea Fine Arts Association prepared the theme and items from the planning stage through preliminary surveys in close collaboration with village residents.

The name ‘Gaengbeon’ (a dialect term for ‘coast’) was also an idea from the residents.

After several meetings with village residents and project team discussions, the project officially began on November 16 of last year, with 52 out of 110 Yeosu Fine Arts Association members participating.

In the future, a map (guide) of the art trail and an archive documenting the project’s progress will be produced to provide information to visitors and serve as an important record of the art trail creation project.

Yeosu Mayor Kwon Oh-bong said, “I hope the Seomseom Yeosu Nangdo Gaengbeon Art Trail will become a representative example of public art where local cultural artists and residents coexist and prosper,” adding, “I thank the artists who transformed this from a simple village art trail into a magical trail, and I ask for continued efforts to promote local culture and arts.”

Meanwhile, Nangdo in Hwajeong-myeon is home to Dinosaur Footprint Fossil Site No. 434, a natural monument, and plays a pivotal role in Yeosu’s island tourism with the opening of the Hwayang-Jeokgeum sea bridge in February last year.

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