West Suwon is a region that embodies Korea's development vision

“Everything that can be accomplished in South Korea is being accomplished in West Suwon.” This single statement by Suwon City Councilor Park Jang-won (representing Pyeong and Geumho districts, General Affairs and Development Committee) encapsulates the characteristics and status of the West Suwon area.

The West Suwon region, which retains the last development potential in Suwon, faces numerous issues including the relocation of public institutions such as Suwon Air Force Base and the Rural Development Administration, housing development in connection with the Shinbundang Line and Suinline, and Homaesil, as well as various demands for convenient facilities for residents. The various issues and concerns of the Suwon region are interpreted to the point of being equated with "West Suwon."

Recently, Councilor Park Jang-won, the representative of the research group for the 'West Suwon Area Long-term Development Vision' that released its research findings, shared his vision for West Suwon along with current issues and alternatives. Councilor Park expressed his aspirations for the future of West Suwon to develop and be enhanced harmoniously, stating “I want to make West Suwon into a nature-friendly city.” <Editor's Note>

"Let Hwangguji Stream be the center for improving residents' quality of life"

- Recently, the Hwangguji Stream Management Action Coalition was launched and began its activities.

▲ The 'Hwangguji Stream Management Action Coalition' was launched in February. In the case of Hwangguji Stream, if we create a natural ecological park, it would be a wonderful place that can receive the convenience and love of citizens. It is also an ideal site for constructing a bicycle path that extends from Gunpo to Pyeongtak.

Currently, this area is designated as a river site for urban planning without any explanation to residents. It cannot be used for any purpose other than farming.

The action coalition began as a civic movement for residents, children, and students to care for and cherish Hwangguji Stream. By early this month, we had made a pilgrimage from Pyeong-dong to Geumho-dong, and on the 7th, we explored Hwangguji Stream by bicycle.

- How should Hwangguji Stream be maintained?

▲ Hwangguji Stream is a wonderful place for cycling, but in places the path is damaged or disconnected. And there is a lot of garbage in the stream. Most of it is household waste dumped by fishermen or due to illegal dumping. Therefore, around May, we plan to promote the establishment of an ordinance on stream management that will prohibit illegal dumping, fishing, and swimming in Hwangguji Stream, and we are currently discussing this with the city administration.

For now, the administration is also interested, and Gwonseon-gu Office Chief Kim Myeong-seon is reviewing it positively. It is known that 48 million won will be spent to organize the indented areas on both banks of the stream.

In particular, it is anticipated that Hwangguji Stream will be reclassified from a provincial stream to a national waterway by the end of this month. If that happens, I believe local streams should also undergo maintenance similar to the Four Major Rivers Project.

- What are the activity plans of the Hwangguji Stream Management Action Coalition?

▲ Currently, about 200 members are active, and it would be good if we could engage middle and high school students in pilgrimages to our local streams, learning about them, and participating in guardian activities, providing them with meaningful volunteer opportunities.

In fact, Hwangguji Stream is one of the four major streams in the Suwon area with tremendous scenic potential. It will become a center and mecca for various sports facilities and for improving the quality of life of local residents.

For now, we will continue our activities as a civic movement to draw public attention, and we plan to gradually expand the scope from Gosaek-dong and Omokcheon-dong to Dangsu-dong and Ipbuk-dong.

I envision that if Hwangguji Stream transforms into an ecological stream, it will become the best leisure facility not only for West Suwon but also for the Hwaseong region.

- Three research groups on environment, green transportation, and West Suwon development have released their final outcomes. What are the achievements of the Suwon City Council members' research group activities?

▲ I am deeply moved that Suwon is the first local government in the nation to establish a research group ordinance initiated by council members, and we have obtained these results. Final reports have been released from three research groups. Until now, various designs had been carried out based on unilateral commissioned studies without hearing the opinions and voices of citizens or residents, but now we have laid the groundwork for conducting commissioned studies from the perspective of citizens. This is what I commend ourselves for.

Council members are responding well, and such research group activities have positive effects, including contributing to the improvement of legislative activities. This year, I anticipate that five additional council member research groups will be formed, with Councilors Kim Myeong-uk, Lee Yun-pil, Kim Ho-gyeom, and Lee Jong-pil taking the lead alongside myself.

“A 'nature-friendly agriculture center' and 'ecological farm center' based on the weekend farm concept to make West Suwon nature-friendly”

- If you had to point to the most important result of the West Suwon development vision research group that you have been leading?

▲ As you know, many issues lie dormant in the West Suwon area. Looking at existing urban development in central Suwon, the reality is that development has proceeded uniformly centered on apartments. While developing urban areas is important, it is necessary to carefully analyze the current state. I think it is important to discuss what citizens want in terms of West Suwon development.

Rather than the existing apartment-centered development method, I think it would be good to create ecological farms. For instance, centered on an 'ecological agriculture center' based on the weekend farm concept, where people can grow crops near their homes for their own consumption and resolve the fatigue of urban living through family farming.

Public institutions such as the Rural Development Administration have very well-established natural green spaces on their sites. By utilizing these, it would be highly valuable to create nature-friendly spaces.

In the case of Suwon Industrial Park in Gosaek-dong, like Dongdaemun Market, if it operates in a 'one-stop' manner from orders to manufacturing, production, and sales, I believe it will help revitalize the industrial park.

I think it should be pursued with distinctive characteristics by maximizing the linkage between the industrial park and commercial district. In the future, I plan to research what facilities have the potential to become revitalized and study the direction Suwon Industrial Park should take by comparing Tokyo, Japan with Dongdaemun Market.

“If cargo operations on the Suinline are transferred to the Seohae Line, civil complaints will be resolved”

- The Shinbundang Line and Suinline issues are also important aspects of the West Suwon development vision, aren't they?

▲ In the case of the Shinbundang Line, it would be worth considering not just ending at Homaesil but also connecting through Bongdam to Pyeongtak.

The Seohae Line (Incheon Airport to Pyeongtak) is currently under planning. If the cargo operations that travel the Suinline section are transferred to the Seohae Line, the Suinline can focus solely on passenger service and issues with overnight yards can be resolved. Research and discussion should also be conducted regarding how to connect the Suinline with the Bongdam area.

Regarding the high-speed railway (KTX), I believe that if the Shinbundang Line and Suinline are eventually connected, there should be a KTX station (tentatively named Suwon-Hwaseong Station) in West Suwon. Furthermore, the West Suwon area has abundant available land for station construction, including greenbelt areas.

In particular, if we imagine the point where the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line, Shinbundang Line, and Suinline meet and a central station is built there, it would have the effect of regional development and revitalization centered on the station. From the perspective that residents of the Bongdam area can also directly and indirectly benefit from Suwon's living area, I believe it is a good alternative.

In preparation for the relocation of Suwon Air Force Base, if we connect it with the KTX station, the formation of a large-scale 'business zone' would be possible.

“Plans to establish a West Suwon Forum to advance research outcomes”

- Are there specific implementation tasks for the West Suwon development vision going forward?

▲ Through this research on West Suwon area development vision, tasks were presented including the establishment of comprehensive plans and programs for West Suwon, research and verification of urban functions, implementation of green city planning, pursuit of rational urban development programs, and the necessity of establishing a public-private-academic consultation forum called the 'West Suwon Forum.' Based on these results, I plan to form the next research group to continue our research.

- What should the Suwon Industrial Park do to contribute to the regional economy?

▲ The fundamental goal of an industrial park is to revitalize the regional economy and create jobs. However, since small businesses are moving in, job creation is not occurring. Many of the businesses moving into the industrial park say that surrounding infrastructure is not being developed.

The West Suwon Employment Information Center is set to open soon, and employment counselors are currently assessing the situation. We must ensure that the fundamental goals of the industrial park are met. I hope many people will find employment and share job opportunities in the region.

I frequently attend monthly meetings of industrial park tenants to listen to their difficulties and continue to discuss what Suwon City should do.

“Ordinances must be enacted to resolve educational rights issues in West Suwon”

- Educational environment and learning rights are also important, aren't they?

▲ Gosaek High School, which had been in preparation since 2000, opened this year, and there are parent concerns about the need for dormitories due to assignments to distant schools.

In particular, we cannot overlook the damage to learning rights caused by air base noise. Currently, a damage survey is underway with results expected by the end of September. I believe it is the duty of a city councilor for local governments to establish ordinances that can help students and schools, particularly in terms of learning rights. Once the damage survey results come out, I believe we should move forward with establishing related ordinances. City Councilor Lee Jong-pil, who chairs the special committee, shares this view.

Additionally, an important matter is improving school facilities like double-pane windows. In the case of Gosaek Elementary School, it has single-pane windows, so classes cannot proceed when airplanes take off. Teachers even say, “If it continues more than twice, it becomes difficult to proceed with classes, and we lose motivation.”

Newly built Gosaek High School was constructed with triple-pane windows, but existing schools are defenseless against noise. We must seriously consider the damage to learning rights. Interim reports from the survey also showed that learning efficiency decreases due to noise. I believe that at the local government level, we should urgently establish ordinances to address what can be done.

- Are there any other challenges in the West Suwon area?

▲ Some areas in Ipbuk-dong, Seryou-dong, and Omokcheon-dong still do not have city gas service. While promoting residential environment improvement projects in Pyeong-dong with three-phase city gas supply, the Pyeong-dong area has an average noise level of 95 decibels, so residents are trying to leave.

Therefore, I believe relocation measures should have been prioritized over residential environment improvement. Only elderly residents remain in Pyeong-dong, and young and middle-aged people are also leaving. I think we need to establish separate urban plans for Pyeong-dong and develop relocation measures.

Among three redevelopment areas, Omokcheon-dong has received district designation approval and is at the stage of establishing a cooperative. However, rather than developing unilaterally into apartment complexes during redevelopment, we also need to create single-family housing complexes. We also plan to support redevelopment so it proceeds smoothly and in the direction residents desire.

Additionally, it is unfortunate that there is a lack of proper parks in the West Suwon area. If we transform the 50-meter-wide green space in front of Suwon Industrial Park District 3 into a park, it would be the first proper park to be built in West Suwon, I think. We are consulting with the city administration to develop nature-friendly spaces.

- A final word for local residents.

▲ As a district council member for West Suwon, there are many matters I must handle day and night: Homaesil housing development, urban redevelopment, the Shinbundang Line, the Suinline, and Suwon Industrial Park, among others.

West Suwon is changing rapidly, and it is true that there are aspects that are difficult to handle alone because there are many related departments and legal provisions.

Nevertheless, as a city councilor for West Suwon, I want to make this area into a nature-friendly city. If we manage it well and make efforts, I believe it can become a nature-friendly city. I also believe it is my role to ensure that various matters proceed smoothly.

※ Councilor Park Jang-won (Pyeong and Geumho districts) Profile
▲ Chair of Gosaek Elementary School Operations Committee
▲ Operations Committee Member for West Suwon Convenience Facilities
▲ Chair of Chilbosan and Hwangguji Stream Guardian Initiative Committee
▲ Secretary of Suwon Air Base Special Committee
▲ Secretary of Suwon City Council General Affairs and Development Committee (8th latter term)