“Describe It and Build an App Instantly”... Hwaseong City to Host Nation's First ‘AI Hwaseong Challenge’ on the 17th

Hwaseong to Host 'AI Hwaseong Challenge' Using 'Vibe Coding'

Citizens, University Students, and Public Officials Develop Urban Problem-Solving Apps

AI EXPO 'MARS 2026' to Take Place at COEX November 3-5

Mayor Jung Myung-geun: “We Will

Even citizens without any coding knowledge can describe their ideas in everyday language or writing, and use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop apps and programs that solve urban issues.

AI Mars Challenge Leaflet. Provided by Hwaseong City

Hwaseong Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Jung Myunggeun) announced on the 15th that on the 17th it will hold the nation’s first AI competition for citizen participation, the ‘AI Hwaseong Challenge: From Citizen Experience to Administrative Innovation’ (hereafter, 'AI Hwaseong Challenge'), in the city hall auditorium using ‘Vibe Coding’.

Vibe Coding is a development method in which the AI writes code to complete a program based on the user’s explanation of the idea they want to implement in natural language. The key feature is that citizens and public officials without professional coding knowledge can realize creative ideas as AI programs.

For this competition, Hwaseong citizens, local university students, and public officials will participate and present app and program-based solutions to urban problems identified in daily life and administrative settings.

The event will consist of three main sections: the ‘AI Competition for Citizens and Public Officials,’ the ‘University Student AI Data Competition,’ and the ‘AI Champion Outcome Sharing Session.’

In the citizens and public officials’ competition, a total of six entries—three each from citizens and public officials who passed two rounds of review—will be evaluated in a final presentation and awarded. The main assessment criteria focus on applicability to real life and whether the changes are tangible to citizens.

Jung Myunggeun, Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, is declaring the AI Future City at 'MARS 2025.' Photo provided by Hwaseong City

At the University Student AI Data Competition, students from Suwon University and Hyupsung University will publicly present eight final solutions selected from among 24 projects analyzing Hwaseong City urban data. This initiative is based on the ‘H-AIDA (Hwaseong City AI·DATA Alliance),’ an industry-government-academia collaborative body involving the city, research institutes, universities, and industrial partners.

During the AI Champion Outcome Sharing Session, Hwaseong City public officials who have completed related training will present outcomes from solutions they developed to address administrative inconveniences. By sharing the development process and the feasibility of applying these solutions in actual work settings, the city plans to spread a culture of AI utilization throughout the public sector.

Hwaseong City will present a total of 17 awards across the three sections, including 13 Mayor’s Awards and four Awards from the President of the Hwaseong City Research Institute. Projects with high potential for practical use will be linked to the ‘Hwaseong City Problem-Solving Urban Data Platform’ and actually implemented as administrative services.

In 2024, Hwaseong City drew significant attention as the first local government in the nation to establish a dedicated AI organization and host the ‘Byeolbyeol Hwaseong Awards,’ an AI Commercial Film (CF) competition using generative AI. Last year, the city also held the large-scale AI Expo ‘MARS 2025’ at Seoul COEX for the first time among local governments.

From November 3 to 5 this year, ‘MARS 2026,’ Korea’s leading AI Expo, will be held at COEX. The expo will showcase advanced industries in one place—including future mobility, autonomous driving, urban air mobility (UAM), manufacturing and industrial AI transformation, robotics, healthcare, smart homes, transportation and safety, and aerospace and satellite data.

Jeong Myeong-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, is conversing with a humanoid robot at MARS 2025. Photo provided by Hwaseong City

Jung Myunggeun, Mayor of Hwaseong City, stated, "The AI Hwaseong Challenge demonstrates that AI is not a grand or difficult technology, but a tool to make citizens’ lives more convenient and lower the barriers to administrative services. We will actively apply the results discovered through the competition to city administration, and through MARS 2026, we will present Hwaseong’s AI ecosystem and vision for a future city to the world."

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