Gyeonggi Province to Remodel 13 Outdated Urban Forests This Year

Gyeonggi Province will carry out a remodeling project this year to supplement trees and improve the growing environment in 13 outdated urban forests across 10 cities and counties, including Gogi Neighborhood Park in Yongin, spanning a total area of 150,000 square meters (15 hectares).

Urban forests, which serve as green spaces within city centers, often lose their original environmental and aesthetic functions over time as trees age, become diseased, or are damaged by disasters. To address this, Gyeonggi Province launched an urban forest remodeling project in 2017 to revitalize existing green spaces.

This project goes beyond simple facility maintenance such as installing benches, focusing instead on planting trees—an essential part of climate environment improvement—and restoring the self-sustaining capacity of healthy forests. The core goal is to refurbish these spaces into green shelters within residents' daily lives that people will want to visit again.

The project sites are selected based on the 'Gyeonggi Province Urban Forest Ecological Remodeling Support Ordinance,' targeting urban forests that have been established for over five years and are assessed on criteria such as functional decline, tree growth conditions, and the need for improvement of the growing environment.

This year, the project will be implemented at a total of 13 locations, including significant upgrades of 20,000 square meters (2 hectares) each at Byeongjeom Neighborhood Park in Hwaseong and the buffer greenbelt in Hakui-dong, Uiwang.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province invested 3,728 million won in 2023 to restore ecosystems at 21 sites in 10 cities and counties, including Nakseong Grand Park in Seongnam, and 3,330 million won in 2024 for 16 sites in nine cities and counties, such as Chidongcheon Sports Park in Hwaseong.

A View of Goyang Haengsin-dong Urban Forest after Remodeling

Last year, the province continued to expand pleasant urban leisure spaces, spending 4,450 million won to plant 12,900 trees, including Azaleas, over 32,000 square meters (3.2 hectares) in the green zone of Haengsin-dong in Goyang, and at a total of 18 sites across 14 cities and counties.

Gyeonggi Province expects that this renovation will not only deliver tangible climate environment improvements—such as mitigating heat waves and reducing the urban heat island effect—but also significantly contribute to expanding rest areas closely connected to residents' daily lives.

Lee Taeseon, Director of the Garden Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Urban forest remodeling is not merely about upgrading facilities, but is a project that restores old green spaces into healthy forests through tree planting and improvements to the growing environment. We will continue to enhance the function of urban forests so that residents can enjoy comfortable green spaces close to their daily lives."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province plans to create 375,000 square meters (37.5 hectares) of urban forests at 264 project sites this year. This includes 13 urban forest remodeling sites, five climate-responsive urban forests, and 21 street forest trails.

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