Gangwon Province Sweeps Grand and Top Prizes at Urban Regeneration Hanmadang for Second Consecutive Year

Gangwon Province Wins Two Awards at the 10th Urban Regeneration Hanmadang Competition
Taebaek City Takes Grand Prize, Sokcho City Wins Top Prize
Proving "Gangwon’s Best Urban Regeneration Achievements"

On December 10, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province announced that it had received awards in two categories at the “10th Urban Regeneration Hanmadang Competition 2025,” hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Exterior view of Gangwon Provincial Government Building. Provided by Gangwon Provincial Government

This achievement is especially significant as it not only marks consecutive wins following the grand prize for Samcheok in 2024, but also represents the first time that the province has won in two categories simultaneously, further solidifying its status as a leading local government in urban regeneration.

Taebaek City will receive the grand prize in the Comprehensive Performance and Outstanding Region category, while Sokcho City will be awarded the top prize in the Best Practices for Residential Environment Improvement category.

This success is attributed to Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province’s decade-long commitment to continuous policy support, proactive investment, and resident-centered urban regeneration strategies tailored to local characteristics.

The “Jangseong Tantan Village” project in Taebaek City, which won the grand prize in the Comprehensive Performance and Outstanding Region category, is a residential support-type urban regeneration project that invested a total of 65.1 billion won from 2018 to 2024.

The project was recognized for revitalizing the declining city center by broadly improving the residential, cultural, welfare, and daily living sectors. Key achievements included the creation of the Jangseong Cultural Platform, support for repairs of Hwagwang Apartments, renovation of old walls and vacant houses, and expansion of essential social overhead capital infrastructure.

In addition, the “Tantan Village Sharing Center” was operated to strengthen resident capacity and significantly expand resident participation. The project also actively mediated conflicts with nearby accommodation businesses during the operation of a guesthouse, establishing a model case for sustainable urban regeneration. This foundation for mutual growth greatly contributed to restoring the local community and increasing resident satisfaction.

The “Seorak Hwachaemaeul” project in Sokcho City, which won the top prize in the Best Practices for Residential Environment Improvement category, is a “Our Neighborhood Revitalization” project with a total investment of 10.7 billion won from 2023 to 2026.

Major achievements included improvements to 184 homes, renovation of 900 meters of alleyways, establishment of a resident-participatory comprehensive survey and complaint resolution process, thorough process management from construction to inspection, implementation of a post-management system, and the founding of a local cooperative.

These results were achieved through the active participation of local residents throughout the entire process of renovating old houses and alleyways, leading not only to increased resident satisfaction but also to a rise in benchmarking visits from other regions, establishing the project as a best practice in residential regeneration.

Shim Cheonseop, Director of Urban Regeneration at Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, “Winning awards in two categories at this competition is the result of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province’s ongoing policy efforts to address urban issues such as population decline, commercial district stagnation, and the improvement of aging residential areas.” He added, “Going forward, we will further strengthen urban regeneration policies to improve residents’ quality of life by revitalizing the local economy and commercial districts, renovating old residential areas, and expanding youth employment. The 35 ongoing urban regeneration projects will also be accelerated, focusing on the delivery of resident-centered social overhead capital for daily life.”

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