Gangdong-gu Improves Gangpul Manhwa Street Scenery to Create a 'Walkable Cultural Street'

[Seoul District News] Gangdong-gu Strengthens Existing Specialized Streets and Improves Residential Environment in Low-Rise Residential Areas... Dongdaemun-gu Conducts Safety Inspections on Steep Slopes for Thaw Season... Songpa-gu Launches ‘Cafe Cheongnyeon Bom’ Creating Songpa-Style Youth Gallery Cafes, Recruiting 20 Young Artists and 10 Cafes for Exhibition Spaces... Seongbuk-gu Operates Countermeasure Headquarters for Spring Wildfire Prevention... Gangseo-gu Completes Creation of Beautiful Signboard Streets in Gangseo-ro and Deungchon-ro Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) completed the Gangpul Manhwa Street landscape improvement project on the 31st of last month.

Gangpul Manhwa Street is a 'comic-specialized street' decorated with about 50 mural paintings of famous scenes from comics by artist Kangpul, located in the area of Cheonho-daero 168-gil, Seongnae-dong, which was densely packed with old houses.

This project, selected as a Seoul City urban landscape improvement project in 2019, involved a total budget of 1 billion KRW (500 million KRW from the city / 500 million KRW from the district). The project started with basic and detailed design in 2020 and continued until January this year.

The district promoted this project to create alleys where everyday spaces become culture by establishing a foundation connecting major nearby hubs such as Jjukkumi Alley and Angel Workshop Street. From the design stage, they actively collected opinions from merchants and residents to resolve conflicting interests, aiming to revitalize the Gangpul Manhwa Street commercial area and improve the residential environment of the adjacent residential areas simultaneously.

Key improvements include applying an 'easy-to-find sign system' to help visitors easily locate Gangpul Manhwa Street from Cheonho Station and Gangdong Station, installing large sculptural murals with nighttime lighting, laying Lumistone on the ground for nighttime landscape specialization, creating small resting spots to further enhance the existing specialized street, and improving the residential environment of the low-rise residential areas behind the main street by upgrading alley floors, replacing gates, and installing mailboxes.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, "Gangpul Manhwa Street, a landmark of Gangdong-gu, has transformed into a more splendid and distinctive cultural street worth walking through thanks to this project. We hope many people show interest and visit Gangpul Manhwa Street, which offers delicious food, sights, and entertainment."

Panoramic View of Dongdaemun-gu

Dongdaemun-gu (District Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) will conduct safety inspections of 20 steep slopes in the area by April 15 in preparation for the thawing season.

They will inspect facilities frequently used by residents, such as the retaining walls of Baebong Overpass in Jeonnong-dong and the Cloud Bridge Overpass in Dapsimni-dong, checking for hazards like falling rocks, collapses, and structural cracks, aiming to prevent safety accidents through preemptive safety inspections.

For public facilities, joint inspection teams composed of private experts and related agencies will conduct professional inspections, while for private facilities, inspections will be carried out after prior consultation with the managers.

If immediate action is possible on-site after inspection, it will be taken promptly. Simple repairs and reinforcements will be performed if improvements can be made through minor maintenance. Areas with high collapse risk will undergo detailed inspections and safety diagnoses using budgets from the respective managing agencies.

Additionally, facilities with identified issues from inspections will be entered into the Steep Slope Integrated Management System (NDMS), and continuous inspections will be conducted until corrective actions are completed to systematically eliminate risk factors.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, "We conduct regular inspections every year to prevent accidents during the thawing and rainy seasons, which have high risks of accidents due to steep slopes. This year as well, we will protect residents' safety through frequent inspections and proactive responses to risk factors."

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Park Seong-su) is launching the 'Cafe Youth Bom' project, a Songpa-style youth gallery cafe.

Mayor Park Seong-su explained, "To realize a gallery in everyday life by linking young artists and cafes, we are launching 'Cafe Youth Bom' for the first time this year. It is a triple-win project that supports young artists by providing exhibition opportunities in everyday spaces like cafes, helps participating cafes increase sales through specialized promotion, and allows residents to enjoy culture in their daily lives."

The project name 'Cafe Youth Bom' connects the themes of 'paintings' by young artists and 'cafes' embedded in residents' daily lives, meaning 'face-to-face with youth in cafes' and expressing hope for a bright future.

The participants include 20 young artists aged 19 to 34 who reside or are active in Songpa-gu, and 10 cafes located in Songpa-gu with a size of 60㎡ or more.

Applications are open until March 11. Applicants can download the application form from the Songpa-gu website and submit it via email along with the required documents.

Selected young artists' works will be exhibited in participating cafes after two rounds of screening, reflecting the cafe's atmosphere and the owner's opinions.

The exhibited works can be sold, and all proceeds will go to the artists. This is expected to provide economic support to young artists who have had fewer exhibition opportunities due to COVID-19.

Participating cafes will receive various promotional materials such as pamphlets, banners, and cup holders to boost sales and revitalize the local economy.

In particular, the district plans to implement the Songpa-style youth gallery cafe by involving a certain percentage of graduates from the Chamsari project, a unique Songpa program.

The Chamsari project supports cafe startups by providing practical training from barista education to customer service and cafe management experience through local Chamsari practice sites.

Seongbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) has activated the wildfire prevention headquarters from February 1 to May 15 during the 'Spring Wildfire Caution Period' to minimize wildfire damage and establish an initial firefighting system.

The district operates the wildfire prevention headquarters to maintain an emergency duty system and establish a rapid firefighting system by building a joint firefighting system with related agencies in the district, including fire stations, military units, police stations, and national parks. In case of wildfire occurrence, 23 ground firefighting personnel and 80 auxiliary firefighters are organized to prepare for emergencies.

They also operate a specialized wildfire prevention and firefighting team responsible for wildfire monitoring, conducting patrol activities focused on areas prone to wildfires, including controlling the possession of flammable materials and inspecting firefighting equipment.

Additionally, Seongbuk-gu plans to continue promotional activities such as posting wildfire caution banners on major hiking trails to raise awareness among residents living near forests and citizens visiting the mountains.

A district official said, "We hope people follow wildfire prevention rules during hiking and ask for citizens' special attention and caution to prevent wildfires caused by carelessness."

Mr. Hong, who runs a restaurant in Deungchon 2-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, said, "Although it is a difficult situation due to COVID-19, after neatly changing the signboard, which is the face of the store, the whole store seems brighter, and I feel that business will improve this year."

Old and dirty signboards around Gangseo-ro and Deungchon-ro have been neatly renovated.

Seoul Gangseo-gu (District Mayor Noh Hyun-song) announced that it has completed the 'Beautiful Signboard Street Creation Project' in the areas of Gangseo-ro and Deungchon-ro, which started in May last year.

The signboards improved this time cover a total of 332 businesses: 154 businesses along the 1.2 km section from Gangseo-ro 177 to 239-1, and 178 businesses along the 2 km section from Deungchon-ro 35 to 233.

A total of 365 old and irregularly shaped signboards were refurbished, and 332 LED signboards were newly installed. The installed signboards were designed neatly and with distinctive styles according to business types after collecting owners' opinions and undergoing multiple design expert reviews.

In particular, the installation of energy-efficient LED signboards also helps reduce electricity bills.

The district emphasized the importance of local residents' participation and cooperation during the project and actively promoted their involvement.

They also informed building owners and tenants about the project procedures and support details, collecting various ideas and opinions from business owners.

A residents' council for signboard improvement was formed with building owners, store owners, and resident representatives to enable residents to independently lead the project.

The project invested a total of about 830 million KRW, of which 300 million KRW was supported by city funds.

The district plans to continue the Beautiful Signboard Street Creation Project this year to create a safe street environment and improve urban aesthetics.

Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, "Since 2009, starting with Gonghang-daero, we have been steadily promoting the Beautiful Signboard Street Creation Project to create a pleasant urban environment. We will continue to do our best to create unique and beautiful streets only found in Gangseo-gu."

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