Hwaseong Special City Launches Largest-Scale Municipal AI Contest 'Hwaseong Wasung' with Official Entry Period

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Hwaseong Special City announced on November 4 that following the conclusion of pre-registration with 832 total participants for the '2025 Hwaseong Special City AI Contest – Hwaseong Wasung,' it will conduct official entry from November 3 to 16.

Held under the theme 'My Hwaseong, Completed with AI,' this contest solicits newly created content using AI technology based on videos or images photographed at major tourist attractions and landmarks in Hwaseong City.

Any resident of South Korea, including Hwaseong citizens, can participate, with total prize money of 60 million won including the grand prize of 10 million won. This represents the highest level among contests hosted by municipal governments, demonstrating Hwaseong's status as an AI-leading city while embodying the city's philosophy of investing generously in citizens' imagination.

Official entry runs from the 3rd to the 16th, and participants can submit their works online through the contest's official website (aihscity.com). Subsequently, the city will announce final award winners on December 12 following review and public verification procedures.

The contest is divided into △video (30-45 seconds) category and △image (single frame) category, with participants required to create works using AI technology based on videos, images, and photographs directly shot in Hwaseong City.

Judging will be conducted on a 100-point scale focusing on four items: creativity, thematic relevance, AI technology utilization, and promotional usability.

Meanwhile, awards will be selected by category as △Grand Prize △Excellence Award △Merit Award. In particular, △the newly established 'Nado Byulbyul Hwaseong Influencer Award' will give awards to a total of 15 works based on YouTube views and SNS likes.

Additionally, the first 300 participants who pass the disqualification review will receive gift certificates worth 20,000 won, further heightening participation enthusiasm.

Hwaseong received 1,019 entries in last year's nationwide first-among-municipalities 'AI·CF Contest'…'Historic record'

The city is evaluated as a pioneer who changed the paradigm of local government promotion by hosting the 'Byulbyul Hwaseong Awards – AI·CF Contest' for the first time among nationwide municipalities last year.

Particularly significant is the fact that it was the first municipality to introduce AI contest content into administrative promotion. Indeed, last year the city for the first time among nationwide municipalities hosted the 2024 AI CF Contest 'Byulbyul Hwaseong Awards,' receiving a total of 1,019 submissions (229 videos and 790 images), overcoming some concerns that 'AI content is difficult.' This represents approximately 1.5 times increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating Hwaseong's pioneering spirit in leading the AI era.

Buoyed by these results, the '2025 Hwaseong Special City AI Contest–Hwaseong Wasung' being held this year is expected to attract even higher nationwide participation.

Hwaseong City opens new chapter in 'participatory city branding' garnering national attention

Award-winning works from the '2025 Hwaseong Special City AI Contest–Hwaseong Wasung' will be utilized as nonprofit promotional content for the next three years and are scheduled to be broadcast nationwide through media channels including YouTube, SNS, and smart administrative bulletin boards.

Last year's contest winning works were displayed in the lobby of Hwaseong City Hall, receiving significant positive response from citizens, and were publicized through various media including the city's official YouTube and SNS, IPTV, and smart administrative bulletin boards.

Additionally, the works were also exhibited at the AI expo 'MARS 2025' held from June 18-20, demonstrating results in which AI content created by contest participants has been utilized as key content for administrative promotion and city branding.

Officials from other metropolitan and provincial governments and numerous visitors to the exhibition venue expressed that "it was very impressive that a basic municipal government, rather than a metropolitan government, experimentally introduced citizen-created content into administrative promotion through an AI contest," with high interest and positive feedback continuing toward Hwaseong's initiative.

Such positive evaluation demonstrates new possibilities for city branding created together by administration and citizens. It means that city brands are evolving from being unilaterally created from an administrative perspective into a 'participatory city branding model' where citizens directly experience, express, and disseminate content.

Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun stated, "Hwaseong, which garnered attention by hosting the nation's first AI CF Contest among municipalities last year, has prepared an even larger stage of challenge with the highest prize money nationwide this year," and added, "We ask for active participation in the '2025 Hwaseong Special City AI Contest.'"

He continued, "AI is not something to fear but a useful tool that everyone can utilize and enjoy in their daily lives," and added, "I hope each citizen will freely express Hwaseong's present and future that you hold in your hearts through AI."