Hwaseong Special Municipality Launches Largest-Scale AI Contest by Local Government 'Hwaseong Came Sung'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Hwaseong Special Municipality announced on the 4th that after completing pre-registration with a total of 832 applicants for the '2025 Hwaseong Special Municipality AI Contest – Hwaseong Came Sung,' official registration will take place from November 3 to 16.

The contest, held under the theme 'My Hwaseong, Completed with AI,' solicits newly created content made by applying AI technology to videos or images photographed at major tourist attractions and notable sites in Hwaseong City.

Anyone residing in the Republic of Korea, including Hwaseong residents, can participate, and the contest will be held with total prize money of 60 million won, including 10 million won for the grand prize. This represents the highest level among contests hosted by local governments, demonstrating Hwaseong's status as an AI-leading city while reflecting the city's philosophy of investing generously in citizens' imagination.

Official registration will run from the 3rd to the 16th, and participants can submit their works online through the contest's official homepage (aihscity.com). The city will then announce the final award-winning works on December 12 after conducting evaluation and public verification procedures.

The contest is divided into △video (30-45 seconds) and △image (single frame) categories, and participants must create their works using AI technology based on videos, images, and photographs directly photographed in Hwaseong City.

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

Meanwhile, awards will be selected by category including △grand prize △excellence award △outstanding award. In particular, the newly established △I Am a Diverse Hwaseong Influencer Award will recognize a total of 15 works based on YouTube views and social media likes.

Additionally, gift vouchers worth 20,000 won will be given to the first 300 participants who pass the screening for eligibility reasons, further heightening participation enthusiasm.

Hwaseong Received 1,019 Submissions in Last Year's 'AI·CF Contest,' the First Among National Local Governments…'Record-Breaking Achievement'

The city is recognized as a pioneer in changing local government promotional paradigms by hosting last year's 'Diverse Hwaseong Awards – AI·CF Contest,' the first among national local governments.

The significance is particularly great in that it is the first local government to introduce AI contest content into administrative promotion. In fact, the city hosted the 2024 AI CF Contest 'Diverse Hwaseong Awards' last year, the first among national local governments, and contrary to some concerns that 'AI content is difficult,' a total of 1,019 works (229 videos, 790 images) were submitted. This represents approximately 1.5 times the increase compared to the previous year, demonstrating Hwaseong City's pioneering spirit to lead the AI era.

Building on these achievements, the '2025 Hwaseong Special Municipality AI Contest – Hwaseong Came Sung' to be held this year is expected to see even higher nationwide participation.

Hwaseong Opens New Chapter in 'Participatory City Branding' Attracting National Attention

The award-winning works from the '2025 Hwaseong Special Municipality AI Contest – Hwaseong Came Sung' will be used as non-profit promotional content for the next three years and will be broadcast nationwide through media channels including YouTube, SNS, and smart administrative displays.

Last year's contest award-winning works were displayed in the Hwaseong City Hall lobby, receiving great response from citizens, and were unveiled through various media including the city's official YouTube and SNS, IPTV, and smart administrative displays.

Additionally, the works were also exhibited at the AI Expo 'MARS 2025' held from June 18 to 20, achieving results where AI content created by contest participants was utilized as major content for administrative promotion and city branding.

Officials from other metropolitan local governments who visited the expo and numerous visitors said, "It was very impressive that a basic local government, not a metropolitan one, experimentally introduced content created by citizens through an AI contest into administrative promotion," with continued high interest and praise for Hwaseong City's initiative.

This positive evaluation demonstrates new possibilities for city branding created together by administration and citizens. It means that city brands are no longer unilaterally created from an administrative perspective, but are evolving into a 'participatory city branding model' where citizens directly experience, express, and disseminate them.

Mayor Jung Myung-geun said, "Hwaseong City, which received attention by hosting the first AI CF contest among national local governments last year, has prepared a larger stage of challenge with the country's largest prize pool this year," and "I request active participation in the '2025 Hwaseong Special Municipality 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 through AI, which you cherish in your hearts."