Questions/Answers

Natural capital or common properties have a characteristic of non-exclusion. That means they can be used by anyone, rich or poor, regardless of condition. In particular, in our modern society, shared properties such as mountains and rivers have become more important in their role of promoting fairness and increasing satisfaction with life. However, in reality, not everyone has equal access to them. Disadvantaged pedestrians such as the handicapped and the elderly use walking assistance devices such as wheelchairs, and cannot enjoy mountain hikes with steep and dangerous trails. In order to improve such situations and enable the handicapped and the elderly as well as pregnant women to safely enjoy mountain hiking and the benefits, we have created the first barrier-free Jarakgil trail loop in Korea. Seodaemun-gu District Office utilized the fact that the city is surrounded by 5 mountains, including Ansan Mountain, Bukhansan Mountain, and Inwangsan Mountain, and has rich green areas allowing creation of a forest trail that can be used comfortably by anyone including the handicapped, the elderly, and pregnant women. At the same time, it set up rest areas, performance stages, restrooms, and health promotional facilities throughout the 7-km trail, utilizing the forest to the maximum extent while increasing the familiarity of the area. In addition, connecting pathways were created linking to popular tourist places in the vicinity to help contribute to the local economy.

The Jarakgil Trail has an average slope of 9%, and can be safely used with wheelchairs and baby strollers. As it can be easily accessed by the handicapped, the elderly, pregnant women, and children, it can be described as a fully inclusive and fair service for all. The wooden boardwalk surrounds the entire mountain, allowing entry from any suburb. This means that every suburb has equal access to nature. Throughout the trail, the mountain can also act as a point of communication between different suburbs. That is, it can act as a place that embrace any disparities or conflicts between localities.

3. Health and well-being: The trail totals 7 km in length, and goes through forests of various species of trees including acacia, metasequoia, and nut pines, allowing visitors to pursue their well-being in the forest on a daily basis. Since it is also close to the residential areas, the trail can improve the general health of the residents through walking exercises. 10. Reduction of inequality: People who experience inconvenience in walking for various reasons (senior citizens, handicapped, pregnant women, children, etc.) can use the trail with their wheelchairs or strollers. The safety facilities in the trail, built using environmentally friendly methods, allow everyone regardless of age, gender, or health condition to heal their mind and body in nature. This contributes to the reduction of inequality amongst vulnerable pedestrians. 15. Preservation of forests and biodiversity: When constructing the Jarakgil trail, trees that were adjacent to the trail were left intact, and the floor decks were lifted up from the ground to preserve the forest in its natural status and minimize damage to the forest. In addition, a range of native species of plants and trees were planted to contribute to the preservation of the natural biodiversity of the forest.

In the Asan trail, various seasonal events such as the cherry blossom concert, walking festival for the handicapped, and the autumn day walking festival are held to promote communication and unity in the district. This will contribute to the social sustainability of the trail as well. The trail also has high economic sustainability from jobs created through the operation and management of the trail, such as cleaning staff, facility management staff, tourist course exploration, and more.

In general, citizens who do not experience any difficulty in walking promote their well-being or health in nature through activities such as climbing or hiking. However, this project was launched as part of the effort to increase the inclusiveness of public services for the elderly and the handicapped who experience difficulties in walking. By creating wooden boardwalks in the forest, we made it possible to use wheelchairs in the forest. In particular, the boardwalk was designed to surround the entire mountain, enabling visitors to explore every corner of the mountain in a circle. The trail therefore has the effect of equally presenting the entire mountain to otherwise disadvantaged pedestrians. The project fully delivered on inclusiveness for public services. The trail has become a major hiking course for the handicapped, and a picnic spot for kindergarten children in the spring.

The trail also contributes to improving physical and mental health for women with children and for pregnant women, who spend relatively longer hours with children than men. Women facing a career break and dwindling social networks due to child rearing can participate in networking activities through hiking social clubs and more. They can also communicate with the local community through various cultural and sports events held around the Jarakgil Trail (cherry blossom concert, concert in the forest, seasonal walking marathon, and festivals). In addition, emergency bells in the restrooms and surveillance cameras throughout the trail have been installed for the safety of women.

Beautiful, refreshing trails in the forest are a place of healing for everyone, and they also contribute to your health. However, the target groups that we would like to highlight are the vulnerable pedestrians such as the handicapped, the elderly, pregnant women, and children. Since wheelchairs and baby strollers can be used safely on the trail, vulnerable pedestrians can promote their well-being and health through nature in the forest. The looped structure of the trail enables visitors to explore the entire mountain, giving the satisfaction of completing the trail. In addition, connecting pathways to different communities around the mountain help contribute to the development of the local economy.

Seodaemun-gu has 5 mountains, and 11% of the total area is green areas. We wanted to deliver a public policy, particularly a service with equal access, utilizing this geographical characteristic of the district. Accordingly, we established a plan for creating a space that can be used by anyone including vulnerable pedestrians such as the handicapped, the elderly, and young children. Following the 1st section in 2010 (0.39 km), we designed the 2nd section in 2012 (1.3 km), and in 2013 constructed the 3rd section (5.31 km). Including rest areas and lookout decks throughout the trail, we created a 7-km barrier-free trail loop where people can hike and heal their minds and bodies. By creating evenly graded trails on a mountain with high slopes, we created a forest trail that can be easily used by anyone. It has received positive responses from citizens, attracting 200 visitors per day on average. An ordinary mountain behind the village has now turned into a tourist attraction, bringing an additional 100 people each year. Reflecting on the opinions accumulated through the satisfaction survey conducted in late 2013 and an open civil complaint service window, we created additional facilities such as resting spaces, book cafes in the forest, performance stages in the forest, and restrooms to maintain a steady level of satisfaction. We recently held a concert by setting up a stage in the forest surrounded by bee-bee trees. We are upgrading the trail constantly by maintaining the boardwalks and creating new entrances and connecting pathways.

The most challenging factor when constructing the forest trail was to not damage the natural environment. Thus, the plan for creating a obstacle-free trail could not become an obstacle in itself. We tried to use environmentally friendly construction methods to the furthest possible extent, holding consultations with experts on the types of materials, methods of construction, and points of improvement in the process. We could overcome the challenge through administration of open communication by persuading land owners over the course of 3 meetings.

Ansan Jarakgil Trail is the first barrier-free trail loop in Korea. First and foremost, it is barrier-free. Horizontal trails with gentle slopes can be used safely by anyone. The trail is has no stairs or stone paths along the trail. Second, it is in a loop. The boardwalk surrounds the entire mountain in circle. This allows visitors to explore every corner of the mountain and come back to the original spot. Areas that are hard to make barrier-free such as creeks were crossed with boardwalks. The existing trails only received light polishing work to preserve nature as much as possible.

The Jeju Olle Trail is a popular tourist attraction visited by tourists all over the world. With a program where visitors can hike and heal their body and mind along with nature received positive responses from visitors. We benchmarked this to create the Jarakgil Trail, and also upgraded the trail by making it the first barrier-free forest trail in Korea that visitors can access with wheelchairs and baby strollers.

We shared our expertise in creation of a natural forest hiking trail in Wudusan Mountain, located in Geochang-gun of Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Geochang-gun had a plan to construct a hiking trail, and one of our staff happened to move to the region around that time. The staff member naturally introduced the barrier-free Jarakgil trail. The coordinator of the project in Geochang-gun and the construction company visited Seodaemun-gu to gain know-how and inspect the site. This helped them to develop a clearer blueprint of the Jarakgil trail. In addition to Geochang-gun, there are many other Districts which have created healing forest trails through our barrier-free trail, including the Gwanaksan Mountain Dulle Trail, Suraksan Mountain Dulle Trail, Ulsan Dulle Trail, Jongro-gu Jarakgil Trail, and Seogwipo-si Coastal Trail. We also shared our case with our sister city in China, the Haidian District.

The initiative has been transferred and continues to spread

A total of KRW 4.8 billion was used for construction. The district could not handle the cost of the construction on its own, so we negotiated with a member of the city council continuously, emphasizing the rationale behind the creation of the trail. the district head had meetings with the mayor of Seoul three times to request budget subsidies and cooperation to resolve the financial challenges. The project was divided into three parts as a long-term project, constructing the trail incrementally over three years.

The forest trail, which has now become a popular destination, is attracting a higher number of visitors. This poses risks of damage in the forest, so we accordingly need to establish strict rules on use of the Jarakgil trail. Strict regulations must be enforced regarding cooking and littering. Use of bicycles has been banned, as it can potentially damage the boardwalks and threaten the safety of pedestrians. The trail is formed as a pedestrian-only trail to increase its sustainability. In addition, we set up an annual budget of KRW 70 million dedicated to the improvement of the safety and other facilities of the trail.

Yes

The trail won an award in the National Landscape Design Contest held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2017. The winner of the contest was selected through the 1st round by document review and the 2nd round by presentation, focusing on project achievements and public service design. We conducted internal evaluations on the level of satisfaction, motivation for visit to the trail, and so on. We also received external valuations such as the LOHAS Award, which assesses well-being and environmentally friendly management performance, the Korea Local Government Fair, Dasan Mokmin Awards, and model examples of administration, and others.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted the evaluation based on the detailed outcome, major characteristics, unique merits, and press release performance for the project as key indicators. The satisfaction survey results were used to identify accessibility, satisfaction level, reasons for dissatisfaction, public awareness, and recommendations to upgrade the trail.

Factors such as being a forest trail that is harmonious with nature, information for user convenience, the first loop trail in Korea, a hiking trail that is accessible from various points, and being a barrier-free trail that is also accessible by wheelchairs and baby strollers received high points in the evaluation, leading the project to win the award in the public design category at the National Landscape Design Contest. In the satisfaction survey, almost 90% of the citizens who had visited Ansan Jarakgil Trail responded that they have an intent to revisit. The internal evaluation reported that villages segregated by the mountain could be connected through the trail, facilitating communication between the residents. The place has been reborn as a center of environmentally friendly cultural content of nature.

The project is a large-scale project for a district, and could not be fully funded by the existing budget allocated to mountain maintenance. However, driven by the strong determination of the district head, active negotiation took place with the superior office of Seoul City. Over the course of three meetings with the mayor, the project was able to receive the necessary financial funding. The district also had numerous meetings with members of the city council to find solutions to the budget problem. The hierarchical cooperative with Seoul City continued with the process of selecting environmentally friendly construction materials and administrative procedures. As a result, the trail was designed to go around thriving tree areas while utilizing the existing pathways. The environmentally friendly method of construction, designed to minimize damages to the forest, also involved allowing trees to stand in the middle of the boardwalk. In addition, to solve the problem associated with private ownership of the forest, the district made continuous efforts to negotiate with the land owners. As a result of open and level communication with the owners, instilling in them a macroscopic vision of creating an environmentally friendly walking trail in the community, we were able to successfully execute the project.

The purpose of the barrier-free Ansan Jarakgil Trail project from the beginning was to provide an inclusive service to district residents. Accordingly, we held information sessions for residents on a regular basis to listen to the local opinions. We set up the District Policy Evaluation Group to listen to suggestions made by residents, and executed them accordingly as well. We shared the construction plan in order to minimize privacy invasion and damages to the landscape, and considered various solutions from multiple angles together with the residents. We also tried to distribute the benefits of the trail evenly among as many residents as possible by actively reflecting the opinions of the local residents on things like the connecting path and entrances to the Jarakgil Trail. In addition, we were able to successfully complete the project based on the cooperation of various representatives including a technical consulting group, Jarakgil trail construction experts, public facility management company, and construction companies who shared their specialized knowledge and expertise in the administrative procedures. We were also able to reduce the budget expenses by developing and executing an appropriate construction method based on numerous field inspections with the consulting group.

There are two different types of beauty. Visual beauty and beauty in meaning. Ansan Jarakgil Trail has beauty in both senses, and therefore is a truly beautiful environmentally friendly hiking trail. First of all, visually it is more stunning than any other trail. We used environmentally friendly construction and building methods to minimize damages to the forest, building the trail to go around areas with thriving trees and letting the trees stretch out across the middle of the boardwalk. As such, we used environmentally friendly methods so as not to harm even one tree, and to preserve nature in its own beauty. In addition, the trail was made with wooden boardwalks that are barrier-free so that vulnerable pedestrians such as the handicapped can use the trail as comfortably as any other visitor, which makes the trail beautiful in its meaning as well. As a result of promoting such senses of beauty, the Ansan Jarakgil Trail has become a popular destination where everyone can enjoy peace of mind and gain happiness. Every year, Seoul City selects Ansan Jarakgil Trail as the “best trail in Seoul that everyone wants to walk along”. We can realize that public administration can become truly beautiful when it is oriented toward the happiness of the residents through the Ansan Jarakgil Trail.