Pohang City Focuses on Expanding Community Values... From Inheriting the Saemaul Spirit to Establishing Smart Safety Villages

The 23rd Saemaul Cultural Festival Concludes Successfully

Cheonglim-dong to Become a Smart Safety Village Integrating CPTED

Three Books Selected for One Book One Pohang’s Book of the Year

Pohang City is accelerating efforts to build a livable community by modernizing the spirit of the Saemaul Undong, establishing advanced safety networks using cutting-edge technology, and fostering intergenerational communication through reading.

The Pohang City Saemaul Association held the 16th Saemaul Day Commemoration Ceremony and the 23rd Saemaul Cultural Festival on April 24 at the birthplace of the Saemaul Movement in Gigye-myeon.

On the 24th, the Pohang City Saemaul Association successfully held the 16th Saemaul Day Commemoration Ceremony and the 23rd Saemaul Cultural Festival at the Saemaul Movement Origin Site in Gigae-myeon. Pohang City

The event, attended by over 900 leaders, featured various programs such as commendations for those who have contributed to regional development, an OX quiz, and a singing contest.

Jang Sangkil, acting mayor of Pohang, emphasized that the Saemaul Undong is a driving force behind Korea's development and a valuable social asset, promising active support to spread a practice-oriented community culture.

Additionally, the urban regeneration area in Cheonglim-dong is expected to be transformed into an integrated smart safety village, having been selected for consecutive contests by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Justice.

Plans are in place to combine crime prevention environmental design techniques with advanced smart technologies in this area, which has a high elderly population and vacant homes, raising public safety concerns.

The city will conduct a resident survey in April and hold a joint meeting with the Ministry of Justice and the police in May to eliminate actual risk factors, focusing on ensuring safety measures that residents can directly feel.

Three Books of the Year for '2026 One Book One Pohang.' Provided by Pohang City.

The Pohang City Library has selected “4x4’s World,” “Children of the Waves,” and “I Said Goodbye” as the three Books of the Year for the 2026 One Book One Pohang program to promote civic unity.

The selections include “4x4’s World” by Jo Uri, a story warmly portraying disability and social exclusion in the children's category; “Children of the Waves” by Jung Sooyoon, which covers the struggles and the value of life of North Korean defector youths in the youth category; and “I Said Goodbye” by Kim Aeran, which delicately captures the everyday life and social landscapes of modern people in the general category—a total of three books.

With these selections, the city plans to continue its reading festival, encouraging communication across all generations through a variety of programs, including a reading relay, a book report contest, and an author event in September.

An official from Pohang City stated that, from inheriting traditional community spirit to building smart safety networks and fostering emotional bonds through books, they aim to create a city where all citizens can feel safe and united.

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