Yongin City Transforms 'Geumhwa 1 Children's Park' into an Exciting Children's Playground

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Yongin Special City announced on the 24th that Geumhwa 1 Children's Park in Sangal-dong, Giheung-gu, has been transformed into a ‘resident-participatory children's playground’ equipped with exciting play facilities.

A resident-participatory children's playground is a park created through the participation of diverse citizens—including children, local residents, community activists, and experts—to ensure it is convenient for actual users. Geumhwa 1 Children's Park is the fifth resident-participatory children's playground in the city.

Local residents have continuously raised complaints requesting improvement of the environment at Geumhwa 1 Children's Park, as park maintenance had not been carried out since 2004 and the facilities were generally deteriorated.

In response, the city secured 500 million won from Gyeonggi Province's special allocation grant and began maintenance work starting in May.

Before undertaking full-scale maintenance, the city formed an advisory committee composed of landscape and child development experts and held two meetings, then incorporated opinions from students at nearby Sangal Elementary School and apartment residents to determine the direction of park development.

The city installed five types of play equipment at Geumhwa 1 Children's Park, including large-scale play structures combining slides, climbing activities, and bridge crossing, as well as swings, trampolines, and hill climbing equipment, designed to stimulate children's imagination and support physical activity.

The city also reinforced the park's resting functions by installing pergolas and picnic wooden benches.

A city official stated, "We hope that the newly renovated Geumhwa 1 Children's Park will be greatly loved by children as a vibrant space for diverse experiences and joyful play," and added, "We will continue to carefully manage the park to provide citizens with a pleasant resting area."