Gyeonggi Province Completes 'Yeoju Namhangang Suspension Footbridge'...Opening May 1st

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Gyeonggi Province has completed the 'Yeoju Namhangang Suspension Footbridge', a project pursued as part of regional balanced development, with official opening scheduled for May 1st next month.

This bridge is a pedestrian-only crossing connecting Sinryuk Temple and Geumeun Morae Recreational Area (water play facility, camping ground, art museum and phone museum, etc.) and is drawing expectations as key infrastructure for activating regional tourism.

The Yeoju Namhangang Suspension Footbridge is a suspension bridge spanning a total length of 515m, width of 2.5m, and height of 35m, with a total investment of 33.2 billion won including Gyeonggi Province's regional balanced development project funds.

With the completion of the Yeoju Namhangang Suspension Footbridge, Gyeonggi Province has finished its first-phase regional balanced development project, which invested a total of 331 billion won across 51 projects in six less-developed cities and counties in the northern and eastern regions (Yeoncheon, Gapyeong, Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Pocheon, and Dongducheon).

The Province expects that with the installation of this pedestrian bridge, tourists and local residents will be able to walk between the famous tourist destinations of Sinryuk Temple and Geumeun Morae Recreational Area, thereby contributing to regional tourism activation. Additionally, by connecting the two tourist sites into a single tourism belt, tourist stay time is expected to increase, bringing positive effects to the local economy.

Yeoju City plans to hold a proclamation ceremony for 'Yeoju Tourism Inaugural Year' and simultaneously hold the 37th Yeoju Ceramic Festival to commemorate the opening of the suspension footbridge. Along with various cultural performances, the city plans to promote new tourism content centered on the suspension footbridge through diverse events including the Republic of Korea Air Force special demonstration team Black Eagles air show. In particular, night lighting will be installed around the two main towers of the suspension footbridge, and together with the 'Forest of Light' to be installed in the Sinryuk Temple tourist complex park, it will be developed into a landmark where visitors can enjoy the beautiful night views of the Namhangang River.

Meanwhile, the Province has finalized the basic plan for the third-phase regional balanced development project supporting six less-developed cities and counties from 2025 for five years and plans to provide a total of 360 billion won in provincial funds through 2029.

Lee Gye-sam, Director of the Province's Balanced Development Planning Division, said, "The Yeoju Namhangang Suspension Footbridge is an important infrastructure that will enrich Yeoju's tourism resources and will strengthen regional competitiveness and contribute to improving the quality of life for provincial residents through tourism industry activation," and added, "Gyeonggi Province will continue to do its best to pursue substantial change and development in the northern and eastern regions of Gyeonggi through comprehensive and efficient customized regional balanced development projects that take into account the characteristics of less-developed areas."