Park golf course
Park golf course

'From a Passing-Through Hillside Village to a Wellness Town to Stay In' — Transformed Into a Resting Space for Residents

Gwanak-gu received the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's award for urban regeneration policy on Wednesday. The award was presented as part of the 2026 Assessment of Urban Sustainability and Living Infrastructure Level, known as the Korea Urban Awards.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport presents the Korea Urban Awards annually to local governments among the country's 229 municipalities. The awards recognize those that have worked to improve urban spaces, residents' quality of life and overall urban competitiveness.

Selection is split between an indicator-based evaluation of sustainability across the social, economic, environmental and support-system fields, and an evaluation of outstanding policies. The policy evaluation covers urban regeneration, population decline response, climate change and smart cities.

Gwanak-gu entered the outstanding-policy urban regeneration category with its Nangok-dong Urban Regeneration Advancement Project. Gwanak-gu passed a first-round document review and a second-round presentation themed "From a Passing-Through Hillside Village to a Wellness Town to Stay In." The district was then chosen to receive the land ministry's award, in recognition of urban regeneration achievements that reflected the area's local character.

Since the land ministry's Urban Regeneration New Deal project ended in 2023, the district has continued pursuing the Nangok Urban Regeneration Advancement Project under a "selective focus" strategy. The approach aims to sustain urban growth and expand living infrastructure. From planning through implementation and operation, the district built a bottom-up cooperative system in which residents and local merchant associations proposed and directly took part in projects. The approach concentrated resources on areas closely tied to residents' daily lives.

Particularly, the Nangok-dong Urban Regeneration Advancement Project, centered on Nangok-dong's low-rise residential area and Woorim Market, was praised for driving urban revitalization tailored to the area's characteristics. This included improving the residential environment and expanding infrastructure, revitalizing commercial districts and regenerating the local economy, building a social safety net, and creating rest spaces within the community.

Key projects included building the Nangok Smart Public Parking Lot, running the Nangok alleyway-style shopping street and the Dotori Festival (an acorn festival), and establishing the Gulcham Village Moa Center. The district also created the Gwanak Park Golf Course. The district's success in designing policies closely tied to residents' everyday needs and in energizing resident-led public-private cooperation projects was recognized as a best practice.

Award ceremony
Award ceremony

Particularly, the district transformed a neglected space once plagued by illegal dumping and crime into Seoul's first mountainside park golf course and the Nangok District Park. The site has become a resting space for residents, drawing an average of more than 12,000 visitors a month. It was credited with helping turn Nangok-dong into a specialized wellness town where all residents can find healing.

Gwanak-gu District Mayor Park Jun-hui said, "This award is a meaningful achievement that Nangok-dong residents and Gwanak-gu earned together by joining forces for urban regeneration." He added, "We will continue to expand urban regeneration projects so that residents can truly feel the benefits."


seouldream01@heraldcorp.com