The Heroes Who Made Gaewoonsan and Cheonjangsan Healing Spots for Seongbuk Residents?

Positive Reviews for Proactive Preparation of Citizens' Healing Needs Following the Lifting of the Quarantine Pass

Resolving Conflicts in Neighborhood Parks such as Gaewoonsan, Cheonjangsan, and Wolgoksan to "Reconnect Severed Bonds" and Persuading the Military to "Connect Blocked Paths"

Residents Who Recognized the Efforts Asked the Seongbuk-gu Mayor Visiting the Neighborhood to "Convey Gratitude to the Hardworking Public Officials"

Team Leader Kim Seong-gi (center front row) of the Park Planning Team, Park and Greenery Division, Seongbuk-gu Office, and team members are cheering while shouting "Seongbuk, the City of Healing."

Since COVID-19, a trend emphasizing health and healing has been taking root.

Amid this, Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) has received positive reviews for its proactive healing spot development projects in local areas such as Gaewoonsan, Cheonjangsan, and Wolgoksan.

At the heart of these efforts is the Park and Greenery Division’s Park Planning Team. Led by Team Leader Kim Seong-gi, the team consists of Han Hyo-jeong, Ahn Ji-yeon, Kim Dong-young, Jang Seo-in, Kwon Eun-ji, and Yoon Kyung-hee. During the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone was confined at home, they promoted ‘mountain confinement’ by connecting blocked paths and bridging long-standing conflicts, transforming Seongbuk-gu’s parks and green spaces into healing areas.

Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park is a representative example. Located in the center of Seongbuk-gu, Gaewoonsan is easily accessible with gentle terrain, serving as a venue for New Year’s sunrise events and various sports facilities, making it a popular park in Seongbuk-gu. However, part of the park’s total area (436,070㎡), specifically 101,479㎡, was owned by the school corporation Korea Joongang Academy (Korea University), causing difficulties in maintaining walking trails and installing facilities. Particularly, regarding Korea University’s dormitory construction plan, about 15,000 residents and 3,000 members of the Korea University Student Council submitted petitions respectively, either to preserve Gaewoonsan Park or to request dormitory construction, turning the park into a conflict-ridden space unbefitting its name as a park.

In response, Seongbuk-gu collaborated with Seoul City to restore Gaewoonsan’s forest and proceeded with land compensation to return it to local residents. Despite challenges such as lawsuits filed by the landowner (Korea University), the Supreme Court ruled in favor in April 2022, transforming Gaewoonsan Park from a conflict zone into a complex green cultural space enjoyed and used by all residents.

There were many difficulties during this process. When redeveloping a long-unused playground into a multi-purpose sports space, a collective complaint from about 700 people arose. Led by Kim Byung-wan, Director of the Park and Greenery Division, the Park Planning Team rushed to the site, carefully listening to each resident’s opinion and seeking solutions. As a result, six projects have been steadily implemented, including the removal of illegal facilities, rearrangement of sports facilities, creation of an artificial turf field, restoration of green spaces, and establishment of various themed forest trails. Notably, through active communication with the barefoot walking club, which made up the majority of the collective complaints, they reached an agreement called the ‘Gaewoonsan Park Management Volunteer Activity Agreement,’ earning Gaewoonsan the nickname ‘the holy ground of barefoot walking.’

Kim Byung-wan, Director of the Park and Greenery Division, said, “Through active communication between the public and private sectors, we restored the dirt path around the artificial turf field to provide convenience to user groups and visitors. The barefoot walking club cleans the trails and reports hazardous trees to the Park and Greenery Division, creating synergy in managing Gaewoonsan Park.”

Cheongnyang Neighborhood Park (Cheonjangsan) connected severed paths through active communication and consultation with the Cultural Heritage Administration and the military. The walking trail in Cheongnyang Neighborhood Park (Cheonjangsan) was cut off at the summit area due to military facilities, limiting its use. About 1,500 residents submitted petitions and persistently appealed through the local mayor’s office and New Year’s meetings, but negative opinions from related agencies (Cultural Heritage Administration, military units) showed no signs of resolution.

The Park Planning Team, to realize residents’ wishes, conducted 13 rounds of appeals and persuasion to related public, private, and military agencies since 2020, securing cooperation. They extended a 70-meter disconnected trail in Sangwol-gok-dong San 8-10 area, connecting two trails in Dongdaemun-gu (1.83 km) and Seongbuk-gu (0.88 km), and installed deck stairs and rest areas. The beautiful scenery and curiosity about the long-closed trail have attracted not only nearby Dongdaemun-gu residents but also visitors from other areas, receiving high praise.

Odong Neighborhood Park, also regarded as a successful park redevelopment project, was transformed from a hotbed of complaints into a park that local residents are proud of and love, thanks to the Park Planning Team’s hidden efforts. Odong Neighborhood Park had a crusher site left abandoned for a long time after closure, raising safety concerns. During the process of gathering residents’ opinions, the desire for a forest library was identified. With support from Seoul City, a 428㎡ multi-purpose community space called ‘Odong Neighborhood Park Forest Library (Chaekswimter)’ is being created on the first floor. The Odong Neighborhood Park Forest Library is scheduled to open in April 2023 amid high interest and expectations from local residents.

Additionally, through barrier-free forest trails for the mobility-impaired, infant forest experience centers for children, healing forest trails for modern people, and park development projects to improve the surrounding residential landscape, Seongbuk-gu is creating its first ‘generation-empathizing family-type park’ that meets the needs of various generations.

Residents’ encouragement recognizing the Park Planning Team’s hard work continues. Ms. Lee Kyung-hwa (73), known as the ‘Master of Complaints,’ is a representative example. Ms. Lee manages her health through exercise and walking in Odong Neighborhood Park and meticulously reports deteriorated stairs and trash to the district office whenever she finds them. Although her actions were for the benefit of all who love and frequently use Odong Park, she was somewhat worried that the responsible officials might find it bothersome. Contrary to her concerns, she praised the Park Planning Team for promptly inspecting and responding to issues on weekdays and weekends, and she visited Seongbuk-gu Mayor Lee Seung-ro at the local mayor’s office to commend Team Leader Kim Seong-gi and the Park Planning Team for quietly improving inconveniences.

Kim Seong-gi, Team Leader of the Park Planning Team, said, “Most of the Park and Greenery Division’s work involves long-term projects that do not immediately show results to residents, but by working hard from the perspective of residents and users, we receive satisfaction, praise, and encouragement from them, which makes us very happy and melts away all the hardships. As the value of comfort and healing provided by forests and parks has grown even more after COVID-19, we will do our best to contribute to a healthier and happier daily life for Seongbuk-gu residents.”

Seongbuk-gu Mayor Lee Seung-ro said, “To satisfy citizens’ desire to heal the fatigue caused by prolonged social distancing, Seongbuk-gu proactively promoted healing spot development projects in easily accessible locations. The Park and Greenery Division’s Park Planning Team, working on the front lines, has connected blocked paths, resolved long-standing conflicts, and quietly led resident harmony by redeveloping Gaewoonsan Neighborhood Park’s playground, creating a resident-harmony green cultural space, establishing a generation-empathizing family-type park in Odong Neighborhood Park, and connecting severed walking trails in Cheongnyang Neighborhood Park. I express my gratitude and support for their hard work that has brought satisfaction to residents.”

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