| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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4. In 2009, artists from the ‘Art Factory In Dadaepo’, a local culture and art creation space, joined the village art project created in cooperation with villagers and children under the auspices of the government and announced the start of 'Community Arts' in the Gamcheon Culture Village. In 2010, as part of businesses offered by the government, homes with a good view near the sea were selected from among the abandoned houses that were scattered along the terraced hillside road and remodeled these into an artistic creations exhibition space. As a stand-alone community business, we began to sell village work made by resident artists and multicultural families to promote senior job creation. As a culture, tourism and content development business, we published a Brand Identity and Gamcheon village story book and produced and sold tourist postcards and notebooks. In addition, a vacant lot in which there was a closed public toilet was reborn as a cultural space for villagers by the village seniors and artists.
From 2011 to 2013, the residential environment project was pursued to reflect the practical needs of villagers. As a result, public facilities including senior citizen centers, workplaces, public bathrooms, security lights, Ssamji Park, and alley maintenance were installed, including the remodeling of 63 buildings for low-income residents and the preparation of 5 buildings for temporary public housing.
From 2011 through 2013, under the guidance of a master plan, administrative support was given with the full consideration of resident needs (resident survey, completion of services, etc.) beginning with a hillside road renaissance project and with final goals that include village landscape preservation, community centers, cafes, restaurants, public parking lots, road works, residential environment improvement, lighting facilities, small museums, art galleries, photo zones, flower walkways, and a website. Since 2011, a local development festival, in which residents are involved to create profit, has been held under the theme of ‘the alley of memory’ every year. (For the Detailed Implementation Plan, see the attachment.)
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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5. Those involved in the creations of Gamcheon Culture Village are the resident community, professionals, local artists, administrators, and the like.
The villager council of the resident community consists of a total of 127 people including a steering committee (26 people), promotional team (20 people), Duremoa business group (10 people), service team (10 people), village reporters (18 people), and senior job creation group (20 people). Professionals consist of village planners, university professors who act as village activists, and a village creation support center. Various stakeholders make every effort to help grow the village: a group of artists (25 people) from 'Art Factory In Dadaepo', central government organizations (MCST, MOSPA, and MLTM), the local government of Gamcheon 2-dong Community Center, Gamcheon Elementary School, Gamcheon 2-dong Security Center, Busan Natural Gas Development Headquarter, and Saha-gu Social Welfare Center.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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6.
1) Selection of various competitive projects ▷ The following are projects that art writers and public officers proposed to apply for as projects sponsored by the government and actually pursued.
- The ‘Dreaming Machu Picchu Project’ in Busan: The project, sponsored by the MCST with government expenditure of 100 million won, allowed artists to recruit village students and seniors and to cooperatively pursue the project.
- The ‘Miro-miro Alley Project’ sponsored by the MCST: With a budget of 230 million won (90 million won from the government, 110 million won from the Busan City, and 40 million won from the Saha-gu District), art writers (idea generation), villagers (jobs), and administrators (construction) were involved.
- The Stand-alone Community Project sponsored by the MOSPA: Government expenditure of 86 million won was offered for the preparation of art shops and the production and sale of work made by seniors and multicultural families.
- The ‘Culture and Tourism Contents Development Project’ sponsored by the MOEL: Under the government expenditure of 12 million won, artists offered their ideas for publishing village guide books and postcards, etc.
- The ‘Machu Picchu Alley Project’ sponsored by the MCST: With a budget of 50 million won from the government and 70 million won from the Saha-gu District, artists and villagers jointly installed works of art.
2) Creation of Neighborhood Commons: With a budget of 50 million won from the government and 40 million won from the Saha-gu District, a total of 70 people including artists, seniors and residents from Gamcheon 2-dong were involved.
3) The Residential Environment Project: With public funding of 4 billion won, the Busan Saha-gu Project was pursued to help resolve citizen inconveniences including those involved in the construction of senior citizen centers, workplaces, public toilets, removal of abandoned houses, maintenance of deteriorating houses, housing remodeling, and preparation of Ssamji Parks.
4) The hillside road renaissance project (master plan): With a budget of 5,334 million won, the Busan Saha-gu project, based on a master plan, was pursed to restore the historical and cultural value of hillside roads, to enhance their accessibility and to create a new brand value for the town. This urban regeneration project included the construction of a community center, roads, small galleries, small museums, restaurants, workplaces, and a website.
5) Profits from village enterprises including restaurants, art shops, coffee shops, community center, and traditional shoe factory were secured to activate village enterprises.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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7. The main factors whereby the Gamcheon Culture Village could be created sustainably and creatively by villagers, administrators, and artists are as follows:
First, the village was neatly remodeled as a terraced village under the principle that ‘the house in front should not block the sunlight of the house adjoining at the back’ as well as the passion of the artists who wanted to create a culture village by adding various colors to the village landscape.
Second, financial and policy support from the central government and the Busan Saha-gu District Office were concentrated on creating Gamcheon Culture Village in line with a changing city maintenance paradigm to emphasize a creative space through the preservation of the original appearance of the village based on the basic concept of 'Preservation and Regeneration', not redevelopment and reconstruction.
Third, with a villager council organized based on the Gamcheon Culture Village Corporation, villagers could be actively involved in the village project through the resident community. Professionals and administrators did their best to support this and a creative community was formed through cooperation and communication among these three groups.
Fourth, village activists, artists and administrators jointly pursued the residential environment improvement project though a full consideration of the needs of residents and boosted quality of life for residents.
Fifth, the villagers learned pottery and soap-making skills from artisans, making and selling these goods in person and expanding their cultural opportunities. The facilities installed by villagers including village arts, small galleries and small museums were utilized for tourism resources to create profit. A village reporter group and a choir offer enjoyment and vitality to villagers. As a result, the village mindset became unified and their pride in their village was enhanced.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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8. From 2012 to May 2013, the needs of residents were investigated and analyzed through a resident survey as part of the process of establishing the master plan to create the Gamcheon Culture Village. We reestablished the overall goals of our village by reflecting professional knowledge. To date, the Hanulmaru Guide Hall, an information center for the Gamcheon Culture Village, has conducted a survey for visitors in order to investigate and improve upon their complaints. We conduct monitoring during the Gamcheon Culture Village Festival held every year, make improvements as needed and solicit feedback on results. For two consecutive years from 2011 to 2012, the Busan Metropolitan City hosted the UNESCO International Work Camp and was designated as the World's first Slow City partner, which included a city tour of slow tourism products (ECO; Eco, Cultural, Originality). By hosting these international events, our village has been evaluated as a global role model for urban regeneration. We have garnered a good reputation both at home and abroad with reference to urban regeneration and cooperation between residents and administrators: The Minister Prize of MLTM regarding urban regeneration in 2011; the Best Prize of the Excellent Case Competition of Manifesto in the heads of national primary local governments in 2011; the Excellence Award in the First Excellent Case Presentation for Urban Regeneration sponsored by the 2013 Urban Regeneration Network; the Presidential Award in the Excellent Cases Competition of Public-Private Partnership sponsored by the Public-Private Partnership Forum; the Grand Prize in the Asia City Landscape Competition sponsored by the Asia City Landscape Society in 2012; Case Presentation in the World Cities Summit held in Chongqing, China on April 27, 2013. The continued visit of domestic and international celebrities is also being monitored and evaluated. The resident-based village newspaper reporter group announces all matters happening throughout the town on a monthly basis, forms social consensus and seeks improvements.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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9. Major problems encountered in the Gamcheon Culture Village were: First, complaints of residential life in the existing city including outdated housing and shared bathrooms, and the needs of residents who want to redevelop apartments; Second, privacy invasion and complaints of residents who live in around the tour sites of the Gamcheon Culture Village; Third, issues that stimulate the exponentially-growing tourist rate to create income and jobs for residents.
Solutions: First, we established a master plan over 2012-2013 to solve problems of the old and underdeveloped village and pursued the Hillside Road Renaissance Project with full consideration of the practical needs of residents including aging house repair, maintenance and installation of shared bathrooms, alley maintenance, and public parking; the residential environment improvement project over 2011-2013 included the installation of senior citizen centers, workplaces, shared bathrooms, demolition and remodeling of abandoned housing, repairs for deteriorating homes, security light installation, and Ssamji Park construction improved the quality of life for residents. As a result, the village was remodeled as a creative space with cultural and artistic power, maintaining the original appearance of the village. It reminds the residents of the meaning of urban regeneration rather than the need for urban redevelopment.
Second, we resolved living complaints by providing soundproof windows and home repair for resident who live in and around the tour sites of the Gamcheon Culture Village. We searched for ways in which to allow residents to guide visitors and to receive remuneration so that they can be involved in creating the Gamcheon Culture Village. This offers a chance for them to have a better understanding of the initiative and enhance their own pride for the village.
Third, to create income and jobs for residents, about 1,500 Gamcheon-dong residents (annual figure) were involved in the housing remodeling project and the preparation of temporary public housing. To create continued jobs for residents, a resident job creation group (13 people) was formed. The residents learned pottery and metal craftwork skills under the guidance of experts, making and selling their products. About twenty shopping centers including restaurants, coffee shops, art shops, communication centers, and traditional shoe factories have been newly formed and provide residents with jobs. To strengthen the capability of residents, we host a village academy addressing such areas as entrepreneurship training and consulting, and operate an advanced city tour program and cultural lectures.
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