Dongducheon City Selects Top 10 News Stories of 2025... 'Rock Festival' Takes Overwhelming First Place

Dongducheon City Announces Top 10 News Stories of 2025 Chosen by Citizens
"Rock Birthplace Dongducheon Rock Festival" Takes First Place with 21.2%

Dongducheon City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Park Hyungdeok) announced on November 27 that the news story "Dongducheon, the birthplace of rock in Korea, successfully concludes its rock festival" was selected as the most popular news among Dongducheon citizens in 2025.

Dongducheon Rock Festival. Provided by Dongducheon City

To select the top 10 news stories that resonated most with citizens among this year's major municipal achievements, Dongducheon City conducted an online survey from November 18 to 24. A total of 1,335 citizens participated, with multiple responses allowed, resulting in 3,367 total responses.

The news "Dongducheon, the birthplace of rock in Korea, successfully concludes its rock festival" took first place in the survey, receiving an overwhelming 21.2% of the votes.

From September 12 to 14, Dongducheon City held the rock festival at a special stage under the Sincheon Bridge, attracting over 16,000 spectators and reaffirming its status as the birthplace of Korean rock music and as a cultural city. Notably, the event venue was moved from the traditional Soyo Mountain location to Sincheon, and this change proved to be a great success, revitalizing the local economy. The festival also expanded participation from local artists and youth teams, and by linking with nearby restaurants and food zones, it established itself as a festival that promotes mutual growth with the local community.

Dongducheon City, Selected as Final Winner in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2025 Specialized Public Rental Housing Contest. Photo by Dongducheon City

The second most popular news, with 13.3% support, was "Dongducheon City, selected as final winner in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2025 Specialized Public Rental Housing Contest." This project involves building 210 integrated public rental housing units for young people and newlyweds at 722 Jihaeng-dong, using Korea's first 25-story modular construction method. It also features the creation of a family center, shared kitchen, and community spaces, aiming to improve residential conditions and revitalize the local community simultaneously.

The third most popular news, with 10.9% support, was "Dongducheon City, embarks on full-scale improvement of Pyeonghwa-ro street environment...75 houses demolished." The project involves demolishing 75 old houses along a 1.12 km section of Pyeonghwa-ro, expanding pedestrian walkways, and creating small parks to ensure student safety and improve the cityscape, marking the first step in transforming what was once a symbol of decline into a future-oriented street.

Expansion Development Plan of Soyosan in Dongducheon City. Provided by Dongducheon City

In fourth place, with 6.7% of the votes, was "Dongducheon City accelerates Soyo Mountain expansion development...Leaping forward as a leading tourist destination in the Seoul metropolitan area." The project aims to transform the Soyo Mountain area from a hiking-focused space into a comprehensive tourist destination by developing Soyo Naeum Park, a park golf course, a pet theme park, waterfront parks, themed shopping streets, and an azalea garden, reflecting expectations for increased population and revitalized local economy.

Fifth place, chosen by 6.4% of citizens, went to "Dongducheon City secures the largest-ever amount of national and provincial funding...Transforming citizens' lives." Since the start of the 8th popularly elected administration, the city has secured over 350 billion KRW in national and provincial funds, enabling the full-scale implementation of projects such as Sori Ieum Madang, Sangpae Neighborhood Park, and traditional market parking environment improvements, all of which are highly regarded for enhancing residential conditions and cultural and tourism infrastructure.

In sixth place, with 5.8% support, was "Dongducheon City to build a multi-purpose parking center in Jihaeng-dong, where parking shortages are severe." The plan involves constructing a multi-purpose parking center in the densely commercial Jihaeng-dong area to alleviate chronic illegal parking and traffic congestion, and to revitalize the commercial district and local economy by improving parking conditions.

Tied for seventh place, with 5.3% support, was "Dongducheon City urges concrete and practical measures for handling U.S. military base land." Dongducheon City officially requested practical compensation and development measures through discussions with the Ministry of National Defense task force, including the prompt return of Camp Castle and Camp Mobile and the enactment of special legislation for long-unreturned base sites, demanding institutional support commensurate with the sacrifices made for national security.

Dongducheon City Urges Concrete and Practical Measures for Handling U.S. Military Base Land. Provided by Dongducheon City

The other news tied for seventh place was "A house left vacant for 20 years transformed into a vibrant childcare space." In Saengyeon-dong, old multi-family houses and vacant homes were demolished to create the "Together Care Center" and "Dream Start," addressing gaps in childcare and becoming a model case for urban regeneration, which resonated with citizens.

Ninth place, chosen by 4.5% of citizens, was "Dongducheon City promoted to leading area in educational development special zone...Secures additional 500 million KRW in government funding." Dongducheon City was promoted from a managed area to a leading area in the Ministry of Education's educational development special zone pilot project, recognized for its exemplary multicultural education, hub care services, and regional cooperation achievements, and will further strengthen its foundation as an educational city with the additional project funding.

The tenth and final place, with 3.4% support, went to "Dongducheon ranks first in Gyeonggi-do regional balanced development project evaluation...Secures 30 billion KRW in provincial funding." Dongducheon City ranked first among cities and counties in the province, securing 30 billion KRW in provincial funds to be used over the next four years for local development, industrial infrastructure expansion, and improvement of residential environments.

Dongducheon Secures 30 Billion KRW in Provincial Funding, Ranked First in Gyeonggi-do Regional Balanced Development Project Evaluation. Provided by Dongducheon City

In summary, the survey results show that Dongducheon citizens are highly interested in a wide range of municipal issues, including culture, transportation, residential conditions, welfare, education, tourism, balanced development, and the U.S. military base land issue. There are high expectations for Dongducheon's growth and future advancement.

Mayor Park Hyungdeok of Dongducheon City stated, "The top 10 news stories selected through citizen participation fully reflect the voices and aspirations of citizens regarding Dongducheon's transformation and future. As most of these top 10 stories are key projects and pledges of the 8th popularly elected administration, we will continue to strengthen citizen-participatory and communicative policies and steadfastly implement our municipal slogan: 'Renew Dongducheon, Empower Citizens!'"

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