Incheon Bupyeong-gu Selected as 'Commercial District Renaissance' Target Area... 8 Billion KRW Support Over 5 Years

Bupyeong Underground Shopping Center
[Photo provided by Bupyeong-gu, Incheon]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] On the 14th, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon announced that it has been selected for the government's 'Commercial District Renaissance' contest project and will accelerate efforts to revitalize the old downtown commercial district.

The Renaissance project is an initiative aimed at revitalizing the deteriorated commercial districts of old downtown areas, transforming them into comprehensive commercial districts that blend shopping, community, and culture reflecting local characteristics.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups recently added three locations?Bupyeong in Incheon, Gwangsan in Gwangju, and Iksan in Jeonbuk?to the 5th phase (2022) of the Commercial District Renaissance project. As a result, the total number of project sites has increased to eight.

The Bupyeong old downtown commercial district in Incheon targets the main customer base of people in their 20s and 30s by utilizing smart technologies such as the metaverse, and plans to create a new model of an emotional commercial district by hosting various events centered on music and culture, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups expects.

Accordingly, Bupyeong-gu has designated Bupyeong Cultural Street, Bupyeong Theme Street, Bupyeong Underground Shopping Center, and Bupyeong Market Rotary Underground Shopping Center as the 'Bupyeong Old Downtown Commercial District Revitalization Zone,' aiming to combine the advantage of easy accessibility with digital commercial districts to naturally attract customers.

The district plans to support this area with a project budget of 8 billion KRW from next year through 2026, creating a new commercial district revitalization model through shopping, culture, emotion, food, and startup programs that fuse digital technology and entertainment.

Additionally, the district will enhance the revitalization effect by linking with ongoing projects such as the urban regeneration New Deal 'Sustainable Bupyeong 11th Street,' the statutory cultural city project, the restoration of the Gulpo Stream ecological river, the development of the planned return site of the Bupyeong US military base, and the 'Incheon e-eum XR Metaverse' project promoted by Incheon City.

To this end, the district plans to diagnose the commercial district with experts from various fields and establish detailed implementation plans that leverage the strengths of the content possessed by the Bupyeong old downtown commercial district through consultations with merchant associations and others.

Cha Juntak, Mayor of Bupyeong-gu, stated, "We will do our best to revitalize the Bupyeong old downtown commercial district by combining digital and cultural assets and equipping infrastructure and merchant capabilities suited to the new environment."

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