Urban regeneration project in Gangchon-ri and Gugok Falls development move into high gear
Development of the Gugok Falls tourist zone in Gangchon, Gangwon Province, is moving into full swing. The Gangchon area had earlier been selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's region-specific urban regeneration grant program, raising hopes that it will be rebuilt into a destination capable of drawing overnight visitors — much as it once did as a beloved retreat for university students.
Chuncheon announced Tuesday it had been chosen as a final recipient of the ministry's region-specific urban regeneration grant, securing 15 billion won ($9.73 million) in national funding. Combined with local government contributions, the total project budget reaches 25 billion won. The funds will be invested from the second half of this year through 2030 to develop a 311,677-square-meter area in Gangchon-ri, Namsan-myeon, under the banner "Re.Play Garden Gangchon — Where a New Culture of Imaginative Gardens Blooms."
The project aims to boost the area's competitiveness and foster sustainable local revitalization by drawing on the region's distinctive assets — its history, culture and natural environment.
The development is organized around three themes: an emotional play garden, an ecological play garden and a cultural exchange garden. Around the former Gangchon Station, plans call for a "Gangchon Imagination Garden Station" featuring a digital art garden and a skywalk, along with a garden plaza and visitor support facilities. A children's ecological experience area, an ecological garden along Gangchon Stream and a garden street along Gangchon-ro will also be created to build a tourism environment that invites visitors to walk and linger.
Alongside this, the city drew up a revised development plan covering a 910,000-square-meter area encompassing Gugok Falls and Munbae Village in the Gangchon area, and received final approval from Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province on April 24.
The centerpiece of the Gugok Falls development will be a treetop trail that gives visitors the thrilling sensation of walking above the falls' dense forest canopy. The plan also includes a photo zone called "The Spirit of Gugok" that visualizes the legend of the falls, along with nighttime landscape lighting.
At the entrance to Gugok Falls, a new scenic rest pavilion will be built to offer a natural retreat, shifting the area's tourism model from day trips toward overnight and extended stays. The plan also weaves together wildflower gardens, ecological wetlands and ponds using the village's natural ecosystem, creating a destination where visitors can enjoy both rest in nature and ecological education.
The city recently designated a Gangchon alley-style commercial district to lay the groundwork for revitalizing local businesses. It is also pursuing a project to turn a cut-and-cover tunnel on idle land owned by the National Railway Corporation into a tourist attraction, as well as a separate tourism development in Bangha-ri.
"This selection is a meaningful achievement born of the city and local residents' earnest desire — working day and night together to plan and reclaim Gangchon's former glory," Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han said. "By organically linking Gangchon's garden-centered urban regeneration with the nature-friendly experiential content at Gugok Falls, we will build a vibrant, stay-oriented city that draws visitors from across the country in every season, while reviving the neglected and stagnant alley commerce — completing the century-long growth engine for Gangchon."
abc@heraldcorp.com
