Gwangju City Launches Full-Scale Development of 'K-POP Star Street'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City is set to actively develop the ‘K-POP Star Street’.

On the 3rd, Gwangju announced that it has secured 350 million KRW in national funding this year to transform the K-POP Star Alley, located in the bustling hotspot of Chungjang-ro downtown, into a vibrant nighttime tourism destination full of sights and activities.

With the cooperation of the Youth Life Design Center, a K-POP media facade will be installed on the exterior walls of buildings within the Star Alley, and a dazzling and safe pedestrian path illuminated by beams projected onto the alley floor will be created.

Currently, the K-POP Star Alley features a large mural of J-Hope’s HOPE WORLD and the famous J-Hope HOPE WORLD fan message sculpture, a landmark of the K-POP Star Street. There is also a Star Fan Zone exhibiting handprints and cherished items of 50 K-POP stars including Sunmi, Chungha, STAYC, MONSTA X, and ATEEZ.

Recently, new content such as the ‘Art Toy Omana’ sculpture, comparable to Gangnam-dol on Gangnam Hallyu Street, the ‘Art Painting Bench Zone’ using star album jackets, and a renewed ‘Star Fan Zone’ featuring immersive content through transparent LED signage have been produced and installed to delight visitors to the K-POP Star Street.

Reflecting the ongoing street dance craze that remains popular with the public even two months after the end of ‘Street Woman Fighter’ (SWF), which sparked the K-Dance syndrome, a permanent K-POP stage will be operated throughout the walking course of the K-POP Star Street starting this year.

Last year, an indoor permanent K-POP stage was created along with the K-POP BTS fan art permanent exhibition Star Fan Zone inside Geumnamno 4-ga subway station.

This year, an outdoor permanent K-POP stage will be established in the yard in front of the Gwangju Youth Life Design Center, aiming to spread Gwangju’s unique K-POP street dance culture where anyone can express their talent and enthusiasm.

Recently, aggressive marketing targeting K-POP fans has been conducted, including a BTS fan art contest themed on K-POP singers from Gwangju and the production of J-Hope HOPE WORLD snow globe souvenirs. Even after the events ended, fan art submissions and souvenir purchase inquiries continue, gaining popularity and positive responses from domestic and international fans.

This year, Gwangju plans to develop and actively promote unique K-POP tourism products using K-POP tourism resources, such as K-POP fan art contests, regular online and offline K-POP performances, and fam tours, to create a self-sustaining K-POP fan culture ecosystem.

Kim Seong-bae, Director of the Tourism Promotion Division of Gwangju City, said, “Last year, through the K-POP fan art contest, we promoted the K-POP Star Street to domestic and international fans and established a private-sector participatory K-POP tourism resource base by exhibiting outstanding fan art creations in the Star Fan Zone. Based on this, we will create Gwangju’s own K-POP tourism so that tourists from home and abroad can visit and enjoy Gwangju.”

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