Jinju's Hadae District Selected in Urban Regeneration Competition... Youth Spaces to Expand

Secures 8.3 billion won, including 5.6 billion won in national and provincial funding; project to run for three years starting in 2027
Jinju Dongbu Veterans Hall to be expanded into a youth cultural complex
Jinju’s sixth urban regeneration project selection, following Seongbuk, Gangnam, Jungang, Sangdae, and Sangbong

Hadae District in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, has been selected as a site for an urban regeneration recognition project in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2026 urban regeneration project competition.

The city said it secured a total of 8.3 billion won in seed funding through the selection, including 5 billion won in national funds and 600 million won in provincial funds, and will carry out the Hadae District urban regeneration project over three years, from 2027 to 2029.

Hadae District was among the seven districts selected nationwide. With this selection, Jinju City has now been chosen for its sixth urban regeneration competition project, following Seongbuk District in 2019, Gangnam District in 2020, Jungang District in 2021, Sangdae District in 2022, and Sangbong District in 2024.

[Photo provided by Jinju City] An artist's rendering of the Kkumteuri Gonggam Center, a multi-purpose cultural space for young people to be built as part of the Hadae District Urban Regeneration Project in Jinju. Following its selection for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's urban regeneration program, Jinju City plans to invest 8.3 billion won to expand the Jinju Dongbu Veterans Hall (formerly the Hadae 1-dong Office) and develop cultural and educational facilities for young people and a community space for residents from 2027 to 2029.

The project focuses on renovating aging public facilities in Hadae-dong and creating a cultural complex that both young people and residents can use.

The project site is the Jinju Dongbu Veterans Hall, formerly the Hadae 1-dong Office. The city plans to expand the existing building horizontally and create the Kkumteuri Gonggam Center, a cultural facility for young people.

Guided by the vision of "a hopeful space where young people grow," the Kkumteuri Gonggam Center will be a four-story complex.

The planned layout includes a piloti parking area and community lounge on the first floor; youth cultural activity spaces and rooms for resident self-governance programs on the second floor; spaces to promote young people's physical and emotional well-being and a rooftop community courtyard on the third floor; and spaces for youth learning and intellectual growth on the fourth floor.

The city plans to provide cultural and educational spaces for young people to use regularly while linking resident self-governance programs with local community activities.

Alongside construction of the facility, the city also plans to run programs to strengthen residents' capabilities, expand resident participation, identify local issues, and revitalize the community.

The urban regeneration project competition began accepting applications in March. It proceeded through a document review and on-site inspection in April, a presentation evaluation in May, a suitability assessment by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in June, budget consultations with South Gyeongsang Province in August, and final approval of national funding in October.

Jinju City plans to prepare detailed plans needed to move the project forward and, after completing the relevant administrative procedures, proceed with the facility expansion and development of the spaces in stages.

Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il said, "We will be providing a cultural space that young people in Hadae-dong can use conveniently," adding, "We will carry out the project without a hitch and continue to pursue various initiatives to revitalize the old downtown."

Once the project is complete, additional public spaces for youth cultural activities and interaction among residents are expected to be available in the Hadae-dong area.

However, maintaining the existing functions of the veterans hall, making effective use of the expanded facility, meeting demand from young users, and determining how the facility will be operated and maintained after completion remain issues to be worked out as the project progresses.

The Hadae District urban regeneration project is significant because it will expand cultural facilities for young people by making use of an existing public building.

In particular, given the total project budget of 8.3 billion won, it will be important to fully account not only for construction of the facility but also for actual demand among young people and plans to run programs for residents.

Space planning and operational measures will also be needed to ensure that the existing functions of the Jinju Dongbu Veterans Hall can coexist with the new youth facility.

The project's success is likely to be judged less by the building expansion itself than by how reliably it can provide programs that young people and local residents will continue to use.

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