Planning a new type of cultural community space in Goyang City, Korea

Abstract

Between March and June 2017, Seoul National University Graduate School of Environment Studies and Goyang City organized a course titled ‘Environment Design and Planning’. At the beginning stage of the project, even though the Unified Korean Silicon Vally Project was initiated, our team members in the class decide to reconsider whether a large redevelopment project aimed at attracting tourists is actually a desirable goal for the residents or not. What would be truly needed for space users living in the area? How should we preserve and maintain the existing meaningful space? Meanwhile, we come up with the Gyeongui Railroad, which passes through Goyang and Ilsan. It was a railway line that shared memories of the past, the daily lives of the residents, and the joys and sorrows of them. Among the railways, ‘Baek-Ma Station’ was the place which was filled with the memories of the people who spent their youth in the city in the 1980s. The station is currently not in use, because this place is abandoned and empty. We wished to make this space more accessible for the residents and also to create a place that would give an opportunity to the resident's social comeback. The space could be activated again with the revival of local cultural activities. And we hope the residents will be able to create new memories of 2017 in this space.