Residents of Seo-gu, Gwangju, Roll Up Their Sleeves to Improve Urban Aesthetics

Members of Hwajeong 1-dong Self-Governing Organizations Create 'Palm Garden' Under Street Trees

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Around 10:30 a.m. on the 9th, residents in the Hwajeong 1-dong Hwaun-ro area of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, were digging under the street trees with hoes.

They poured prepared soil, leveled it, and then began planting small plants, each smaller than a palm, at regular intervals.

In just about 10 minutes, the area under the street trees was transformed into a small flower bed.

Although it must have been tiring to squat and work while wearing masks, smiles never left the residents' faces.

One resident said, "When flowers bloom here soon, the area under the street trees will become a small flower bed and look really nice."

The area under the street trees, which had been suffering from bad odors and urban blight due to cigarette butts and illegal dumping of trash, was transformed.

According to Seo-gu, Gwangju, residents of Hwajeong 1-dong directly created flower beds under the street trees that day.

Called the "Palm Garden," flower beds were installed within the boundary stones under the street trees, and four-season carnations were planted.

Residents rolled up their sleeves themselves to create a bright and warm village.

From Hwajeong Station intersection to Haegwang Shangri-La intersection, a total length of 1.5 km, about 70 street tree flower beds were created.

Eight organizations including the Residents' Autonomy Committee, Welfare Council, Saemaeul Association, Women's Association, Saemaeul Library, Neighborhood Association, Volunteer Crime Prevention Unit, and Youth Association, totaling about 80 people, participated together.

To plant the flowers that day, they removed weeds on the 5th and installed wooden flower beds under the street trees over three days from the 6th to the 8th.

This project was an agenda item discovered at last year's "Residents' General Assembly."

Hwajeong 1-dong is a residential village adjacent to major arterial roads, Sangmu-daero and Jukbong-daero. It has a large floating population due to nearby large marts and a subway station.

However, the area under the street trees was littered with cigarette butts and illegally dumped trash, damaging the aesthetics and posing safety risks, especially since there is an elementary school nearby.

Therefore, residents discovered this project through last year's Residents' General Assembly and put it into practice.

A Hwajeong 1-dong official said, "It is more meaningful that residents themselves created the palm-sized flower beds under the street trees," adding, "We will carry out administration together with residents and strive to make the neighborhood a better place to live through projects for the residents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.