What is the Vision for the 8th Term of Mayor Oh Seung-rok's Re-election in Nowon-gu?

July 8th, 6 PM, Vision Declaration Ceremony of Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu at Nowon Citizens' Hall Auditorium · Nowon's Future Expected as 'Seoul National University Hospital-centered Bio Complex, Reconstruction and Redevelopment, GTX-C Line' · Nowon's Present as 'Suraksan Natural Recreation Forest, Craft Beer Festival, Lifecycle Education Welfare' for Happiness... Nowon-gu Holds 'Again! Thank You Festival' Walking Event Celebrating 2 Consecutive Years of No.1 Walking Practice Rate

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The vision for the 8th term of Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu, who was re-elected, has been revealed.

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) launched the 8th term of the autonomous government by presenting a vision for a greater and better Nowon over the next four years at the Nowon Citizens' Hall auditorium at 6 p.m. on the 8th.

On this day, Mayor Oh Seung-rok announced the new administrative goal for the 8th term: "Nowon, a cultural city to look forward to tomorrow."

The vision declaration ceremony was conducted under two main themes. Under the theme "Nowon's tomorrow is promising," the focus was on ▲jobs ▲housing ▲transportation, and under the theme "Nowon's today is happy," the focus was on ▲nature ▲culture ▲education and welfare.

□ Nowon's tomorrow is promising

Mayor Oh Seung-rok announced the administrative directions and key policies in various fields, including the creation of a bio-complex centered on Seoul National University Hospital, promotion of reconstruction and redevelopment, and the Northeast Light Rail and GTX-C lines.

As the primary goal in the job sector, he pointed to the "creation of a bio-medical complex centered on Seoul National University Hospital." He detailed the plan for the bio-complex to be established on the space secured through the relocation of Dobong Driver's License Test Center and Changdong Vehicle Depot. Centered on "Nowon Seoul National University Hospital," the plan is to attract globally renowned bio-medical companies and research institutes to create a world-class bio-medical complex, along with forming a mixed commercial and cultural complex including shopping malls connected underground to Nowon Station.

Next to it, a mixed commercial support complex including MICE (Meeting, Incentive Travel, Convention, Exhibition) and a convention center will be established, linked with the Changdong Arena performance hall, presenting a vision for Nowon to become the central city of the northeast region.

Along with jobs, the key direction in the housing sector, which is important to residents' lives, is to promote "rapid reconstruction and redevelopment." To prevent residents from leaving the area due to poor housing conditions such as aging apartments, rusty pipes, and severe parking shortages, easing the safety inspection standards is essential. Mayor Oh Seung-rok stated, "We are currently urging central government agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to relax the standards, and we will prioritize budgeting to support detailed safety inspection costs," asking all residents to unite their efforts.

The main policy in the transportation sector is the "Northeast Light Rail and GTX-C line." The Northeast Light Rail is scheduled to open in 2026, and the GTX-C line is set to begin construction next year. When the Northeast Light Rail opens, it will take 26 minutes from Sanggye Station to Wangsimni Station, and the GTX-C line will reduce the travel time from Gwangwoon University Station to Samsung Station from 46 minutes to 9 minutes. Transportation networks are the most fundamental element for regional economic development. The opening of the Northeast Light Rail and GTX-C line is expected to greatly contribute to residents' convenience and regional economic growth.

□ Nowon's today is happy

Mayor Oh Seung-rok presented a vision to create a Nowon where nature is infused with culture and all generations are happy.

In the nature sector, in addition to the four healing towns and four major river trails established during the 7th term, four new sites will be added to complete the "healing city" plan.

The four new plans are ▲Suraksan Natural Recreation Forest ▲Choansan Circular Trail ▲Connecting the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail to Gwangwoon University Station ▲Extending the Danghyeoncheon Trail to Danggogae Station. The Suraksan Natural Recreation Forest is a log cabin accommodation facility located in Dongmakgol near Danggogae Station, scheduled to begin construction this October. The Choansan Circular Trail is a 1.8 km wooden deck trail connecting Wolgye Station to Cheongbaek 1 Complex, expected to become the fourth trail following Bulamsan, Yeongchuksan, and Suraksan once construction starts next year.

In the culture sector, the main policies include attracting world-class performances and exhibitions and hosting four major festivals. To attract world-class performances, the Nowon Culture and Arts Center will be remodeled, and the Nowon-gu Art Museum will be built to host global exhibitions.

The four major festivals include the existing Bulamsan Azalea Festival, Tal Festival, Nowon Moonlight Walk, and a new summer festival, the Craft Beer Festival. Mayor Oh Seung-rok expressed his ambition, saying, "The most regrettable part during COVID-19 was culture, and we will do our best to make everyday life infused with culture."

The main operational direction in education and welfare is "Nowon-gu takes responsibility from cradle to grave." Detailed plans covering all generations from infants, children, adolescents, youth, seniors, to the disabled include expanding Nowon-style daycare centers and co-parenting rooms, building an indoor playground "Jump" for children and adolescents, expanding support for environmental improvements in elementary, middle, and high schools, supporting cultural living expenses for people in their 20s and building youth housing near stations, fully supporting shingles vaccination costs for seniors, and expanding beauty salons exclusively for the disabled.

In addition to the six sectoral policies, Mayor Oh Seung-rok promised to establish a city of community sports, lifelong learning, and pet-friendliness.

The event was attended by about 700 people including members of the National Assembly, city and district council members, and heads of local institutions and organizations. The program included introductions of guests, reading of the president's congratulatory message, screening of the Seoul mayor's congratulatory video, oath-taking, inaugural speech, and presentation of the new vision for Nowon.

On July 1, the first day of the 8th term, Mayor Oh Seung-rok visited and inspected flood-prone areas in Danghyeoncheon and Suraksan. Due to heavy rain centered in the central region on the night of the 30th of last month, which raised concerns about flooding damage in various parts of the area, the morning schedule was changed from the original plan to visit and inspect flood-prone areas.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu said, "I sincerely thank the residents who gave me another chance to work. I will fill the shortcomings of the previous 7th term and pioneer Nowon's future with jobs, housing, and transportation as the three main pillars, and I will devote all my efforts to realizing Nowon as a cultural city to look forward to tomorrow by strengthening culture, which was regrettable during COVID-19."

Yeongchuksan Walking Challenge

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is holding a walking event called "Again! Thank You Festival" until the 17th to celebrate achieving first place for two consecutive years in walking practice rate among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul.

The walking practice rate refers to the proportion of residents who have walked for at least 30 minutes a day, five or more days a week, in the past week. According to the 2021 Community Health Statistics announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in May, the walking practice rate of Nowon-gu residents was 63.4%, the highest among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul.

To commemorate the two consecutive years of first place, the district is conducting a residents' appreciation festival to encourage more residents to participate. The festival, which continues until the 17th, includes various events such as the 63,400-step walking challenge celebrating the 63.4% walking practice rate.

Among residents who achieve the goal first, 100 will be selected by lottery to receive a mobile cultural gift certificate worth 10,000 KRW. Additionally, the 6th, 34th, 63rd, 634th, and 1,634th participants in the challenge, as well as five residents each who achieve the target of 63,400 steps at the 6th, 34th, 63rd, 634th, and 1,634th positions, will receive sports equipment.

To encourage more residents to participate, the first 100 new residents who join the community will receive a mobile coffee coupon.

Residents who wish to participate can install the "WalkOn" app from Google Play or the App Store, join the official Nowon-gu community "Walking City Nowon," and start the challenge.

After recording the lowest walking practice rate in Seoul (44.7%) in a 2017 survey, the district declared "Walking City Nowon" in 2018 and has been implementing systematic health promotion projects to improve residents' walking practice rate.

Various projects such as residents' walking events and activation of walking groups have been carried out, and walking-friendly pedestrian environments and walking courses have been created. As a result, three years after the declaration, in the 2020 survey, Nowon-gu ranked first among Seoul's autonomous districts with a 68.4% walking practice rate, and maintained first place in 2021.

On the 4th of this month, the 1.74 km Suraksan Circular Trail was officially opened following Bulamsan and Yeongchuksan trails. Going forward, the focus will be on creating the Choansan Circular Trail to complete walking courses utilizing the natural environments of the four major mountains in the area.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu said, "By creating walking-friendly pedestrian environments and healing walking trails, the number of residents who walk naturally is increasing. I hope many residents will join the walking events, as a small step to protect health can become a big step to improve quality of life."

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