Muju and Seogwipo Join Forces for Urban Regeneration

A New Model of Regional Solidarity Draws Attention

Muju County in North Jeolla Province and Seogwipo City in Jeju Province are joining forces to build a cooperative system by sharing their unique experiences in urban regeneration that reflect their respective regional characteristics. On May 14, the Muju Urban Regeneration Support Center and the Seogwipo Urban Regeneration On-Site Support Center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and agreed to collaborate on the operation of urban regeneration hub facilities and the revitalization of local communities.

This agreement is considered an exceptional case, as it brings together a mountainous inland small city in North Jeolla and the old town district of Jeju, transcending regional boundaries in the field of urban regeneration. In particular, the mutual sharing of hands-on experience accumulated in project implementation is expected to create an effective collaborative model.

Going forward, the two organizations plan to share their management systems, principles for space utilization, and operational methods for urban regeneration hub facilities, and to benchmark each other. They also aim to jointly develop and exchange cultural, artistic, and educational programs, lifestyle-oriented projects, regionally specialized content, and intergenerational integration initiatives.

Muju County will share its rural and mountainous urban regeneration experience accumulated through the operation of its downtown hub facility, while Seogwipo City will provide its expertise in revitalizing the old town, gained through its Jungang-dong Urban Regeneration Project. By exchanging hands-on experience in areas with different environments and population structures, the two regions seek to enhance the sustainability of their urban regeneration efforts.

A working-level council will be established in July 2026. The two organizations will develop an annual exchange plan and are scheduled to hold their first mutual visits and on-site meetings within this year. They also plan to regularize the exchange of best practice case studies in hub facility operations.

In the past, many urban regeneration projects saw their momentum wane after government funding ended. Some regions repeatedly experienced issues such as declining resident participation and underutilization of hub facilities. Against this backdrop, efforts to share operational know-how and even failure cases through interregional cooperation networks are attracting attention as a new alternative model for urban regeneration.

Kim Hyecheon, Head of the Muju Urban Regeneration Support Center, stated, "As urban regeneration projects across the country face the common challenge of achieving self-sustaining operations, cooperation among regional centers can provide a realistic solution. We will strive to revitalize our communities around hub facilities and ultimately improve residents' quality of life."

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