[Interview] Jung Soon-kyun, Gangnam District Mayor, "Successful Launch of 'ME ME WE Gangnam' Style Brand"

Gangnam-gu is expected to undergo a revolutionary transformation 5 to 6 years after the completion of projects such as the Hyundai Motor GBC construction, Yeongdong-daero underground space complex development, and SRT Suseo station area development, becoming a world-class city like New York's Manhattan or Shanghai, China... Ahead of this, it is time to become a community that lives together, shares, and gives in harmony with the external development, growth, and change. The style brand "ME ME WE Gangnam," embodying "Together, Caring, and Respectful Elegant Gangnam," is successfully settling in.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “I believe that Gangnam-gu, the ‘number one city’ symbolizing South Korea, is now at a time when it must transform into a community that lives together, shares, and gives, in line with its upcoming second leap forward and its external development, growth, and change.”

Jung Soon-gyun, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said in an interview with this publication, “With this aspiration in mind, we launched the style brand ‘Dignified Gangnam that is Together, Considerate, and Respectful, ME ME WE Gangnam’ in January last year.”

The repeated use of ‘ME’ conveys the meaning that “You are another me,” and “My other self is you.” It reflects the belief that the highest form of consideration is to recognize others not as ‘YOU’ but as subjects like oneself. Through ‘ME ME WE Gangnam,’ Gangnam aims to break away from its previous negative images such as being ‘stingy’ or ‘selfish’ and establish itself as a community filled with the scent of people who care for and respect each other.

Gangnam-gu is expected to undergo a revolutionary transformation in 5 to 6 years after projects such as the ‘Hyundai Motor GBC Construction,’ ‘Yeongdong-daero Underground Space Complex Development,’ and ‘SRT Suseo Station Area Development’ are completed, emerging as a world-class city comparable to New York’s Manhattan or Shanghai in China. Mayor Jung emphasized, “As the eldest among Korea’s representative cities and local governments, I believe we must play the role of a ‘Mother City’ that shares and lives together in our society. We will take a step forward to become a ‘dignified city’ where living in Gangnam is a source of pride and respect from society’s members.”

When launching the style brand ‘ME ME WE Gangnam,’ there were concerns about the success of the brand launch. Mayor Jung said, “It took New York City 10 years of effort for the city brand ‘I♡NY’ to become widely known and loved. Seoul’s ‘I·SEOUL·YOU’ took 5 years, but ‘ME ME WE Gangnam’ is rapidly gaining favorability and recognition within just one year.”

He added that with the recognition built by Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ and Gangnam’s status as the mecca of the Korean Wave that has swept the world, it is expected to quickly establish itself as a global luxury brand.

Last year, Gangnam-gu commissioned a professional agency to conduct two surveys with 2,200 respondents, revealing that resident awareness was close to 40% and favorability exceeded 65%. In-depth group interviews also showed that most participants evaluated ‘ME ME WE Gangnam’ positively. Specifically, comments included, “I like that Gangnam-gu now has a distinctive logo,” and “It feels sophisticated and special, unique to Gangnam.” Mayor Jung emphasized, “The core values of ‘ME ME WE Gangnam’ are respect and consideration. We are focusing on widely promoting the purpose and values so that residents and visitors to Gangnam can empathize with them.”

Additionally, various goods such as T-shirts, hats, mugs, and eco-bags are being developed, with proceeds used to support marginalized groups within the community. He expressed confidence that Gangnam will play a leading role in fostering a sense of community, a global trend.

He continued, “If 2020 was the year that laid the foundation for ‘Smart City Gangnam,’ then 2021 will be the year to establish the status of ‘Ontact Leader Gangnam,’ actively revitalizing the local economy while minimizing the spread of infectious diseases to protect residents’ health and safety in the post-COVID era.” He stressed that administrative efforts will focus on minimizing COVID-19 spread to protect residents’ health and quickly restore precious daily life. Mayor Jung explained, “We plan to expand the ‘Smart Gangnam Open Public Information System’ and build a ‘Big Data Platform’ for smart administration. We will also lead the realization of customized smart welfare, such as ‘Smart Homes for the Severely Disabled’ and ‘BIT-based Smart Bus Stops for the Disabled.’” He added, “We will create a research hub for the robotics industry in the Suseo Station area to become a new growth engine for Gangnam. Furthermore, despite COVID-19, we will continue the reputation of ‘Cultural and Tourism City Gangnam’ full of vitality through high-quality Korean Wave culture.”

Alongside this, he mentioned plans to build the ‘Suseo-dong 593 Public Library’ and ‘Gaepo 1 Complex Sports Facilities’ where residents can cultivate cultural literacy and improve health, adding sports facilities such as tennis courts and multipurpose fields. He also plans to expand the Gangnam Healing Center to help recover the mind and body exhausted by ‘Corona Blue’ and ‘Corona Red.’ Mayor Jung stated, “I will carefully oversee large-scale projects that will transform Gangnam, such as the Hyundai Motor GBC construction, Yeongdong-daero underground space complex development, SRT Suseo Station area, and Gaepo Guryong Village development.”

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