The Seoul Metropolitan Government will work to revitalize the living areas of low-rise residential neighborhoods around Hwagok Central Market in Gangseo District.
On the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held the 4th Urban Regeneration Committee and announced on the 23rd that it approved the urban regeneration revitalization plan for the Hwagok Central Market area.
The target site is located in the area of 370-37 Hwagok-dong, Gangseo District, which is 700 meters from Kkachisan Station on Subway Line 5 (156,989 square meters). The goal is to build a local revitalization model that drives the traditional market and surrounding areas together, and the government has been promoting urban regeneration projects linked to traditional markets.
This area includes low-rise multi-family and multi-unit housing formed by a land consolidation project in the 1970s, as well as the traditional market (Hwagok Central Market). Due to height restrictions around Gimpo Airport, large-scale development has been difficult, leading to poor living and pedestrian environments, a lack of living infrastructure, and decreased market vitality.
In February 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Government selected this area as a pilot project for urban regeneration linked to traditional markets and has been pushing forward with the project. It has established a revitalization plan reflecting changes in policies based on the establishment of the '2030 Urban Regeneration Strategic Plan,' which has been finalized through deliberation.
The current urban regeneration revitalization plan was structured around physical environmental improvement in response to the restructuring into a second-generation urban regeneration and the designation of some areas as a 'Moa Town' since the selection of the pilot project in 2020. It plans to implement projects that not only reinvigorate the market and improve accessibility but also establish community centers and village management offices in response to high local demand.
The goals of the revitalization plan include three components: ▲creating local vitality centered around neighborhood markets ▲improving residential environments for a better quality of life ▲establishing sustainable executing entities, consisting of a total of eight detailed projects.
Additionally, as part of the revitalization area linkage projects, five projects including modernization of the market, construction of customer parking facilities, and application of universal design will also be promoted.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that it prepared this plan by collecting various opinions through resident surveys, forums, consultations with related agencies, and feedback from the legislative council since the selection stage of the pilot project.
Kim Chang-kyu, head of the balanced development headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, “The establishment of this urban regeneration revitalization plan linked to the traditional market (Hwagok Central Market) is significant in that it has built a regeneration basis centered around living areas that encompass low-rise residential neighborhoods and traditional markets,” and added, “We will promptly complete the establishment of living social overhead capital to enhance the convenience of residents and support maximizing project effects through linkages with nearby Moa Town.”