Hwaseong Special City Secures 2.7 Billion Won in National Funding for Dungji Narae Children's Library Remodeling

Hwaseong Special City (Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun) held a "final report meeting on basic planning and feasibility study for Dungji Narae Children's Library remodeling" on August 31st in the grand hall on the second floor of the Dungji Narae Children's Library located in Hyungnam-eup, Manseh-gu.

The meeting was organized to share the results of the basic planning and economic and policy feasibility investigation for the Dungji Narae Children's Library remodeling project and discuss future implementation directions. The meeting was attended by city council members, officials from the Library Policy Division and Cultural Tourism Foundation, and consulting firm representatives.

The Dungji Narae Children's Library has been in operation for over 15 years, with its overall facilities and equipment becoming outdated and requiring improvement in usage environment. Additionally, due to demographic changes in Hyungnam-eup, there has been a need to reconfigure the space to maintain the existing infant and children-focused functions while expanding to accommodate adolescents, adults, and family users.

The feasibility study proposed an integrated multi-generational space configuration with a book café, infant and children's area, and multipurpose hall on the first floor, and an adolescent specialized space and general reading rooms on the second floor. The plan also included ways to reconfigure underutilized or unused spaces to expand spaces available for public use.

The city plans to implement this remodeling project in connection with green remodeling projects that improve the energy performance of aging public buildings. The plan includes installing high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, improving insulation and window performance, and applying eco-friendly technology to enhance the building's energy efficiency.

Through this project, the city aims to create eco-friendly public buildings that contribute to carbon neutrality realization and also serve as "climate shelters with culture" where citizens can enjoy cultural activities and take rest during climate crises such as extreme heat waves and extreme cold.

In particular, Hwaseong Special City was selected in the final round of the "2026 Public Building Green Remodeling Signature 2.0 Competition Project" hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and secured 2.7 billion won in national funding. A total project cost of 4.6 billion won is planned to be invested in the Dungji Narae Children's Library remodeling.

Yun Mi-young, division chief of the Library Policy Division, said "The Dungji Narae Children's Library remodeling is not just about improving aging facilities, but expanding functions to serve as a neighborhood complex cultural space that children, adolescents, adults, and families can use together while maintaining child-specialized functions," adding "We will carefully review the opinions presented in the final report meeting and develop the space for convenient use by diverse generations."

The city plans to proceed with the project with a goal of beginning design and construction in 2027, completing construction in December 2028, and reopening the Dungji Narae Children's Library in March 2029.