Jongno-gu Seosunra-gil Artterior Renovation... Eunpyeong-gu, Full Effort for Spring Wildfire Prevention

[Seoul District News] Jongno-gu Supports Small Business Stores and Local Artists with 1:1 Matching to Improve Store Facilities and Promotional Materials, Contributing to Revitalizing Local Commerce and Creating Jobs for Artists

Jongno Seosunra-gil

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu achieved a great success on the 11th by being selected for Seoul's '2022 Our Neighborhood Store Artterior' contest project and is set to revitalize the commercial district around Seosunra-gil.

The Artterior project involves matching small business stores with local artists on a 1:1 basis to support customized design improvements for in-store and exterior facilities, signage, and promotional materials.

This initiative is meaningful as it revitalizes the local economy, which has been frozen due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, while also contributing to job creation for artists.

The target area of this project, Seosunra-gil, which is expected to be a win-win model for local commerce and job creation, is located within the historical and cultural regeneration project zone in the heart of the city wall in front of Changdeokgung Palace. Stores line the Jongmyo stone wall path, and the alley commercial district retains traces of its long history.

However, more than 70% of the buildings in this area were constructed before the 1980s, resulting in significant facade deterioration, and the commercial district is currently in decline due to many vacancies following COVID-19.

Accordingly, Jongno-gu plans to invest 150 million KRW of city funds secured this time to support about 40 stores and 15 local artists in Seosunra-gil under the concept of "Protecting Accumulated Time and Adding New Time through Artterior."

Through this, it is expected to create a commercial environment with stories where the past and present harmonize by adding the individuality and identity of stores reinterpreted by local artists to the rich historical and cultural resources unique to Seosunra-gil.

A district official said, "By incorporating the creativity of artists, we can maximize the identity and potential of Seosunra-gil," adding, "We will continuously support so that the project's outcomes do not end as a one-time event but spread to surrounding commercial districts."

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) has designated the period until April 17 as the 'Special Measures for Forest Fire Prevention' and is making all-out efforts to prevent forest fires, which are rampant in spring.

Eunpyeong has five mountains including Bukhansan and Imalsan, and forest areas account for about 45% of the administrative district, with many areas where small sparks can spread into large forest fires.

Although no forest fires occurred in Eunpyeong last year, an average of 11 forest fires have occurred annually in Seoul over the past 10 years. Recently, frequent strong winds and dry weather in spring have caused frequent forest fires nationwide, making countermeasures necessary.

Accordingly, the district has established a Forest Fire Prevention Headquarters to comprehensively command the response system for forest fire prevention. The firefighting personnel consist of about 1,470 people, including public officials and firefighting team members, who are mobilized according to the stages of forest fire occurrence.

The district is building a wide-area monitoring network using advanced equipment. Forest fire prevention drones equipped with high-performance cameras patrol the forests of Eunpyeong-gu regularly. They also use unmanned surveillance cameras and black boxes to prevent arson by visitors and track forest fire perpetrators.

The district has reestablished an on-site command system for rapid response in case of forest fires. It has strengthened cooperation with related agencies such as police stations, fire stations, and military units, and prepared a systematic forest fire prevention system to mobilize helicopters and ground firefighting personnel at the right time and place within the golden time.

Forest fire prevention specialists recruited in January patrol major local forests such as Bukhansan and Bongsan regularly. Fire prevention banners have been installed at key sections of hiking trails, and pamphlets on forest fire prevention are distributed to citizens to raise awareness of forest fire occurrences.

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung said, "During the spring, when forest fires frequently occur, please do not carry flammable materials when hiking and refrain from smoking in forests and adjacent areas," and added, "I ask all residents to take an interest and actively participate in forest fire prevention."

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