Gwangju Dong-gu Selected for Alley Economy Recovery Support Contest

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 3rd that it has achieved the great success of securing a budget of 800 million KRW after being selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘2021 Alley Economy Recovery Support’ public contest project.

With this selection, Dong-gu plans to invest 800 million KRW to transform the Daein-dong Food Culture Street (from Ogahyeon to Geumho Citizen Culture Center area) into the ‘Yesuldamgil Filled with Art’ and make every effort to foster economic communities and restore the local commercial district.

The Alley Economy Recovery Support Project is a program by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that has focused since 2015 on revitalizing local economies by strengthening community capabilities and utilizing and linking local resources to build alley economy infrastructure.

This year, six regions nationwide, including Dong-gu in Gwangju and Yeonje-gu in Busan, were finally selected.

Through the selected ‘Daein-dong Food Culture Street, Yesuldamgil Project,’ Dong-gu will promote ▲ fostering the Yesuldamgil Win-Win Council for alley commercial district cooperation ▲ Soho Mentoring School ▲ governance networking and ‘smart system establishment’ to support alley commercial district recovery ▲ creation of smart safe walking paths ▲ establishment of a safe vaccine center and creation of the ‘Yesuldamgil Alley’ to strengthen alley commercial district competitiveness ▲ Yesuldamgil cultural walks ▲ and design-themed development.

Specifically, by building smart streetlights, safe walking paths, and a safe vaccine center, the project aims to ▲ create a street atmosphere that is safe and secure both day and night ▲ establish a street art museum linked with local cultural resources such as Ogahyeon and Geumho Citizen Culture Center ▲ carry out alley tour programs through road mural creation and operation of resident curators.

Daein-dong was once a central commercial district but has faced difficulties due to the relocation of Gwangju Station and the terminal, redevelopment, and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. However, Daein-dong is evaluated as an alley commercial district with potential for commercial development by linking long-established traditional restaurants and local resources with culture and arts.

Accordingly, Dong-gu plans to systematically proceed with the project focusing on creating a ‘Dong-gu alley commercial district model’ that is ‘a place to stay and a place people want to visit’ through the strategy of ‘adding style to taste and embedding art into the local commercial district,’ which represents Dong-gu’s unique character.

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, “With this contest selection, I hope that alley commercial districts, which have suffered more than ever due to COVID-19, will regain vitality and lead to the revitalization of the local economy,” adding, “We will create a specialized alley commercial district unique to Dong-gu through various methods such as expanding alley commercial district infrastructure and fostering alley win-win communities.”

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