Songpa-gu, Determined to Secure Korea National University of Arts Campus

Expansion of the Hosting Promotion Committee to 105 Members... Continuous Growth to Unite Resident Capabilities... Sharing Hosting Strategies through On-site Visits to Planned Hosting Sites... Park Seong-su, Songpa District Mayor, "Considering School Development Potential, Songpa-gu is the Optimal Location"

On-site Visit

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seongsu Park) is accelerating efforts to attract the Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) by significantly expanding resident participation.

To this end, the district newly appointed 57 members to the ‘KNUA District-wide Attraction Promotion Committee’ last October. The number of committee members was increased from 48 to 105 to strengthen response capabilities. The committee, composed of cultural artists, urban planning experts, residents, and others from various fields, is establishing sector-specific strategies for attracting KNUA and conducting public opinion campaigns.

On the 16th, the new members conducted an exploration of the planned KNUA site in Bangi-dong 445-11 area, Songpa-gu. This activity involved directly observing the current uses of the site, which include rice paddies, floriculture farming, storage yards, and vegetable gardens, and walking together along the Songpa Dulle-gil Seongnaecheon section to gather diverse on-site opinions.

In particular, the 32 participating committee members agreed through the field visit that the planned site, located in a greenbelt area, has largely lost its original function.

Furthermore, they unanimously agreed that developing KNUA as an ecological arts school would be the most public-beneficial use, capable of protecting the environment while responding to development pressures in the surrounding area.

Currently, the district is promoting the attraction of KNUA by emphasizing five strengths: ▲the only site within Seoul capable of establishing an integrated campus ▲abundant cultural and artistic infrastructure ▲a transportation hub adjacent to five subway lines and three highways ▲ability to respond to development pressures when creating an eco-friendly campus ▲and the fact that over 90% of KNUA faculty and students wish to relocate to Songpa-gu.

The district plans to continue expanding the promotion committee to increase resident participation, gather diverse opinions, and carry out comprehensive activities.

Mayor Seongsu Park of Songpa-gu stated, “The selection of the KNUA site should be decided by considering the school’s global competitiveness and development potential, rather than simply following a distributive balanced development logic,” adding, “We will unite with residents to consolidate attraction capabilities and actively promote that Songpa-gu is the most competitive and prepared city to host KNUA.”

Since February 2017, the district established a dedicated ‘Campus Attraction Team’ for KNUA, and in July last year formed the ‘KNUA Attraction TF Group.’ In April this year, distinguished figures active in politics, culture, arts, and business were appointed as the ‘KNUA Songpa-gu Attraction Standing Advisory Group,’ focusing efforts on attracting KNUA together with experts and residents.

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