Opening of Ganggamchan Urban Agriculture Center, a Complex Urban Agriculture Space in Gwanak-gu

Total Project Cost of 2.5 Billion KRW Invested, Creation of a 2-Story Greenhouse Complex Building with a Total Floor Area of 905m²... Supporting Various Urban Agriculture Activities Including Education, Seminars, and Native Seed Exhibitions and Rentals

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) announced on the 26th the opening of the ‘Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center,’ a representative urban agriculture complex facility in the southern Seoul area.

The ‘Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center’ is a greenhouse complex building with a total floor area of 905m² and two above-ground floors, constructed from May last year to January this year at 253-8 Bongcheon-dong (Nakseongdae-dong), with a total project cost of 2.5 billion KRW.

The name ‘Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center’ was selected through a resident contest held in October last year, from a total of 459 submissions, and finalized by a naming review committee. It is highly regarded for harmonizing well with the urban brand ‘Gang Gamchan City, Gwanak’ and being familiar to residents.

This project was selected as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s urban agriculture complex space support project, with Gwanak-gu representing the southern Seoul area. It was created as a multipurpose space for urban agriculture education and activity support.

The first floor of the center includes a barrier-free garden where wheelchair users can participate in gardening activities, a seed library, exhibition greenhouses (orchard farm, berry farm, kitchen farm), an experience room, plant cultivators, and vertical gardens. The second floor houses a permanent exhibition hall, special exhibition hall, and classrooms where Gwanak urban agriculture activities can be viewed at a glance.

In particular, the seed library exhibits about 250 types of seeds including food crops, horticultural crops, and medicinal plants, based on the agricultural book ‘Geumyangjaprok’ published in 1492 by Gang Huimaeng, a civil official of the early Joseon Dynasty. In the future, the center plans to operate a seed lending system where exhibited seeds will be distributed to residents and returned after harvest.

Additionally, the special exhibition hall will display ‘Electron Microscope Photos of Native Wild Plant Seeds’ from the National Baekdudaegan Arboretum until October 18th to celebrate the center’s opening.

Furthermore, the opening ceremony strictly adhered to COVID-19 prevention guidelines and featured a ‘Gilnori’ performance celebrating the successful opening of the Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center, along with a lively folk song performance by master singer ‘Yoo Chang,’ creating a small garden concert that received enthusiastic responses from attendees.

The district plans to invigorate urban farmers by supporting various urban agriculture activities through the Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center, including agricultural education for training urban agriculture experts, seminars and events for information exchange, community activity support, native seed exhibition and lending, and rental of small group spaces.

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said, “I hope the Gang Gamchan Urban Agriculture Center will spread the vision and value of agriculture to many residents and urban farmers and become the largest agricultural activity hub in Seoul where people can experience urban agriculture firsthand.” He added, “I also hope it will establish itself as a complex cultural landmark for urban agriculture where tired modern people can communicate within communities through agriculture and enjoy healthy leisure activities.”

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