'Yeongdeungpo Munhwabokdeokbang' Wins Grand Prize

Yeongdeungpo-gu Wins Grand Prize in Regional Culture Revitalization Category at Manifesto Best Practice Competition

‘Yeongdeungpo Cultural Bokdeokbang’ Awarded Grand Prize in Regional Culture Revitalization Category at the ‘2023 National Basic Local Government Heads Manifesto Best Practice Competition’

Cafes, offices, and other everyday spaces reborn as places for residents to enjoy and create culture

Highly praised for restoring resident communication disrupted by COVID-19 and rediscovering culture in daily life through residents’ proactive participation

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) was honored with the grand prize in the regional culture revitalization category at the ‘2023 National Basic Local Government Heads Manifesto Best Practice Competition’ held at the National Suncheon University from the 26th to the 27th.

Now in its 13th year, the ‘Manifesto Best Practice Competition’ is organized by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters to actively discover excellent policy cases from basic local governments and spread them nationwide. The competition is held in years without local elections.

This year, under the slogan ‘Transition for a Better Future,’ cases were evaluated in seven categories: ▲job creation and employment improvement ▲inequality reduction ▲response to demographic changes ▲climate and environmental response ▲digital innovation leadership ▲regional culture revitalization ▲community strengthening.

A total of 364 cases were submitted from 155 basic local governments nationwide. After the first round of judging, 172 outstanding cases advanced to the finals and competed over two days.

Yeongdeungpo-gu submitted the case titled ‘We Broker Spaces and Culture. Yeongdeungpo Cultural Bokdeokbang’ in the regional culture revitalization category. The project received high marks for creativity, suitability, communication, scalability, and impact, earning the grand prize.

The Cultural Bokdeokbang, operating in 11 locations including cafes, offices, and community spaces, fosters resident interaction and the creation of new culture around themes such as music, cooking, and childcare. It was highly praised by judges for restoring communication and exchange among residents disrupted by the unprecedented three-year pandemic and transforming everyday spaces into hubs for cultural enjoyment and production.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “I am pleased that the Cultural Bokdeokbang project, which was actively promoted in response to residents’ demand for spaces and programs for cultural exchange, received such a positive evaluation. We will continue to strive to make Yeongdeungpo a vibrant cultural production city where the daily lives of all residents become culture, and through culture, they grow and connect.”

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