Are There 'Red Road,' 'Sky Path,' and 'Kkirikkiri-gil' in Mapo?...Why Did District Mayor Park Gang-su Cling to the 'Road'?

Since Mayor Park Gang-su's inauguration, specialized street projects such as 'Hongdae Red Road,' 'Hapjeong-dong Sky Path,' and 'Yeonnam-dong Kkirikkiri-gil' have been created to revitalize alley markets and boost the local economy... Fourfold increase in visitors to Red Road brings big smiles to local merchants

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District (left), is explaining the significance of the Red Road to children at the Red Road.

The city is a road.

People create roads, and roads create cities.

Roads have not only philosophical meaning but also physical significance.

"Where does this road I am walking lead to, where does it take me, and what is that place?"

The singer GOD sang about life's direction and concerns about the future through the song titled "Road."

Since his inauguration, Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, after much contemplation, set the theme of "road" to revitalize the local economy.

Mayor Park devoted himself to a specialized street creation project centered on the "road."

Reviving alleyway commercial districts is never easy anywhere.

In this situation, Mayor Park realized that the best way to attract people was to apply a theme to the "road."

Moreover, Mayor Park has drawn attention by focusing not only on simple commercial revitalization but also on creating spaces where local culture and art harmonize, establishing a unique identity for Mapo-gu.

The first phase of the specialized street project is the creation of the Red Road. Stretching about 2 km from Gyeongui Line Forest Trail to Hongdae and Danginri Power Plant, it was transformed into Hongdae’s representative themed street, a unique cultural and tourism specialized street of Mapo where nature, culture, tourism, and safety come together.

As a safe pedestrian environment was established and the specialized street created, the overall sales increase effect in the Hongdae commercial district has become noticeably apparent. According to the Korea Tourism Organization’s data on foreign visitors to Seogyo-dong, before the Red Road was created, in March 2023, the number was only in the 30,000 range, but by November, it had grown about fourfold to 130,000.

Following the success of the "Hongdae Red Road," the second phase of the specialized street project, "Hapjeong-dong Sky Road," created to revitalize alleyway commercial districts, is gaining attention as a unique date course favored by the younger generation.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, inspecting the skyway site

The sky-blue road stretching from Hapjeong Station Exit 7 to Mapo Saebit Cultural Forest symbolizes the Sky Road. The Sky Road commercial district covers a total area of 90,338 square meters and hosts about 190 stores of various sizes.

Unlike other famous streets filled with franchise stores, this unique commercial district has established itself with independent bookstores, distinctive cafes and restaurants, and is linked with historical and cultural resources such as Mapo Saebit Cultural Forest, Yanghwa Ferry, and Jamdubong Ruins.

The district is also preparing the third phase of the specialized street project. It plans to create the "Kkirikkiri-gil" (Together Road), a 1.7 km street connecting Hongdae Entrance Station to the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail to revitalize the Yeonnam-dong commercial district.

Once Kkirikkiri-gil is completed, the specialized streets centered around the Red Road will complete the revitalization of alleyway commercial districts.

Park, who once held about 60 patents and is known as an idea man, draws attention to how much of his determination to revive the region through "roads" will be achieved.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, "From the Red Road and Sky Road to the upcoming Kkirikkiri-gil, each specialized street will showcase the diverse charms of Mapo-gu and lead the revitalization of alleyway commercial districts," adding, "Going forward, Mapo-gu will create areas where alleyway commercial districts flourish through the creation of specialized streets that blend local economy and culture."

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