Suncheon City Honored with Grand Prize in Gwangju and Jeonnam Local Government Evaluation

Ranked No.1 Among 27 Cities and Counties in Gwangju and Jeonnam
Proving to Be the Most Livable City with Slowness, Leisure, Pause, and Healing

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 28th that it won the ‘Grand Prize’ in the Gwangju-Jeonnam local government evaluation.

As a result of the evaluation conducted by KBC and Jeonnam National University Graduate School of Policy on 27 cities and counties in Gwangju and Jeonnam, combining administrative services, financial capacity, and resident satisfaction, Suncheon City earned the honor of first place with a total score of 7.31 points.

In particular, by ranking first in civil complaint administration satisfaction and second in cultural infrastructure satisfaction, Suncheon received a total of 13.80 points in resident satisfaction, achieving first place with a large gap from second place, proving it is the most livable city in Gwangju and Jeonnam.

Suncheon has traditionally been an educational city and a transportation hub, consistently implementing education policies tailored to the talents and characteristics of its citizens. Despite being a small to medium-sized city, it benefits from the operation of an airport and KTX, as well as the intersection of the Gyeongjeon Line and Jeolla Line.

Especially, Suncheon Bay, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and the Suncheon Bay National Garden as an eco-belt for its preservation were cited as major advantages.

Additionally, direct democracy has been introduced, allowing citizens, the owners of city administration, to participate in all policies and decision-making processes through discussions and public deliberations, solving long-standing issues. The residential environment includes libraries, cultural spaces, parks, gardens, and sports facilities within a five-minute walk, and customized policies for each life cycle stage from pregnancy and childbirth, children, youth, to the elderly have steadily increased the population.

Suncheon City aims to enter the world’s top 10 most livable cities by 2050 with the vision of ‘Suncheon, a city of 300,000 gardens.’ Rather than focusing on development and growth-oriented policies, it prioritizes ecological conservation and sustainability as core values, promoting five major strategies?residential, economic, cultural, welfare, and autonomy?and 45 key projects.

Mayor Heo Seok of Suncheon said, “Now is an era that pursues slowness, leisure, pause, and healing rather than speed, bustle, and noise,” adding, “Based on the ecological resources Suncheon possesses, we will create a sustainable self-sufficient city where all citizens can enjoy a happy and peaceful daily life within gardens.”

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