Mayor Kim Byungsoo: “Gimpo with Global Competitiveness... Aiming to Become a City of Opportunity”

Gimpo Delegation Visits Leading Global City London
Building Globally Competitive Urban Strengths for Gimpo
Mayor Kim Byungsoo Accelerates Field-Based Policy Development
Plans for World-Class Urban Regeneration and Nighttime Economy

Kim Byungsoo, Mayor of Gimpo City, is benchmarking London, United Kingdom-a global leader in urban regeneration and nighttime economy policies-to elevate Gimpo’s urban competitiveness to a world-class level. Mayor Kim, together with a delegation of 18 members including city officials and city council members, embarked on an official overseas visit to London from November 12 to 18 to concretize urban regeneration, nighttime economy, and marine and river policies that connect Gimpo to the world.

Outdoor performance held at the chimney of Gimpo Hangang Resource Recovery Center, which was reborn as a public art piece beyond an industrial facility in June this year. Provided by Gimpo City

Under the 8th popularly elected administration, Gimpo City has moved beyond the parochial perspective of “among ourselves in Gimpo,” focusing instead on external communication and cooperation to resolve long-standing regional issues and enhance external competitiveness. Through this trip, Mayor Kim aims to directly observe London’s innovative urban policies and realize his vision of transforming Gimpo into a globally competitive city.

This official visit, organized after Mayor Kim-who also serves as Vice President of the Council of Mayors of Major Korean Cities-outlined the overall direction and established networks in London, is intended to develop practical and detailed policies with a focus on London’s case studies. The delegation, consisting of city officials and city council members, will accompany him. The fact that the mayor is conducting on-site inspections together with officials and council members underscores his commitment to establishing effective and swift policies.

This official visit, which will extend Mayor Kim’s external network to practical working-level connections, will allow the delegation to witness London’s innovative urban policies firsthand, meet with practitioners, and examine policy details. They will also identify concrete points of application for Gimpo and discuss expected outcomes, dedicating themselves to shaping new competitive strengths for Gimpo.

Regarding urban regeneration, the focus will not be on simple documented results but on closely examining the processes that lead to success. By visiting sites in person and integrating Gimpo’s unique waterfronts, rivers, and seas, the city aims to develop distinctive urban regeneration and nighttime landscape policies that set Gimpo apart on the global stage, building on London’s examples while incorporating local differentiators.

In particular, the new nighttime economy strategy-a global trend for overcoming urban economic stagnation, with London as a leading city-will be studied in depth. The plan is to analyze London’s policies and real-world responses and adapt them to suit Gimpo’s context.

According to experts, London’s nighttime economy is projected to create 69 trillion won in added value and 1.26 million jobs for the UK economy in the future. Originating in London, the nighttime economy is spreading across Asia, with the governments of China and Japan showing keen interest and accelerating the development of nighttime economy and tourism policies.

The delegation will visit key institutions such as the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London-the starting point of the London network-the British Council, which serves as an international cultural exchange platform, and Hawkins Brown Architects, which has succeeded in expanding transportation hubs, regenerating housing, and repurposing local industrial buildings. They will focus on examining policies that combine culture and urban regeneration, nighttime activation strategies for public spaces, and public-private partnership models in urban development.

Night Picnic Theater held this April at Hangang Central Park and Masong Central Park in Gimpo City. Provided by Gimpo City

Mayor Kim stated, “Gimpo is at a historic turning point in tourism, economy, and urban development. Through this official visit, we can achieve global competitiveness via urban regeneration and nighttime economy policies. Gimpo City is sending its potential out into the wider world, transforming itself into a city of opportunity.”

The participating officials commented, “We expect to overcome the limitations we have felt from relying solely on documents by conducting on-site inspections and practical discussions. We are confident that we will establish unique policies for Gimpo, modeled after the world’s leading examples.”

Meanwhile, Gimpo City is rapidly emerging as a globally recognized tourist destination, led by Aegibong, and is pushing forward with the development of Gimpo Hangang 2 Compact City, which will complete the Gimpo Hangang New Town, as well as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s New Village Project, which has secured 18 billion won in national and provincial funding. Recently, Mayor Kim removed barbed wire and opened the Hangang River, allowing public access to Baekmado Island for the first time in 50 years. He also declared a new era for Gimpo’s sea by opening the waterway from Gimpo Passenger Terminal to Daemyeong Port for the first time in 70 years since the Korean War.

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