Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Takes a Successful First Step Toward Resolving Long-Pending Urban Park Projects… ‘Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Dalmaji Park Development Project’ Held

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□ Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it held the “Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Dalmaji Park Development Project” at 3:00 p.m. on October 14 at the planned construction site in Jung-dong, Haeundae-gu (lot no. 978-1).

○ ▲ The event was attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon, Haeundae-gu Mayor Kim Seong-su, Metropolitan Council members Im Mal-sook, Shin Jeong-cheol, and Kim Gwang-myeong, local district councilors, and about 100 residents, who gathered to celebrate the successful first step of the project.

□ Dalmaji Park will be created as a naturalistic park that harmonizes nature and culture while preserving its exceptional natural scenery, with a total project cost of 23.3 billion won. The project is scheduled for completion by 2028.
○ ▲ Key facilities will include the “Moonlight Plaza,” where visitors can enjoy cultural programs; the “Dalmaji Garden Village,” which embodies Busan’s garden culture; a remodeled multi-purpose cultural facility serving as the “Park Support Center”; and the “Meditation Shelter,” a wellness and relaxation space.
○ Upon completion, it is expected to become a world-class landmark combining coastal scenery and park landscapes, comparable to the beaches of Nice in France or Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada.

□ In particular, Jeong Yeong-seon, a pioneering landscape designer in the field of naturalistic gardens, will participate as the lead garden designer for Dalmaji Park, transforming it into a world-class naturalistic garden park.
○ Jeong, one of Korea’s first-generation female landscape architects, has left a profound legacy in Korean landscape history with designs that respect ecological order and the natural context of the land. Her major works include the Seoul Arts Center (1984), Seonyudo Park (2002), Yeouido Saetgang Ecological Park (2007), and the Seoul Botanic Park (2016). Her design philosophy, “landscape architecture is poetry written on the ground,” reflects her artistic approach to public spaces.
○ She was also the first Korean to receive the Geoffrey Jellicoe Award from the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), gaining international recognition. For Dalmaji Park, she will oversee the overall concept and design of the “Dalmaji Garden Village,” introducing a new signature garden representing Busan.

□ Dalmaji Park was first designated as an urban planning facility in 2002 but remained unimplemented for a long period. After Mayor Park took office, Busan Metropolitan City began full-scale land compensation in 2022, successfully securing the project site.
○ Through this process, the city laid the foundation for preserving Haeundae’s coastal landscape and took the first step toward resolving long-pending urban park projects and creating open spaces for citizens.
○ Since Mayor Park’s inauguration, the city has invested a total of 175.3 billion won to secure approximately 1.6 million square meters of parkland across 17 unimplemented urban park sites—equivalent to 225 soccer fields—ensuring that citizens can enjoy parks conveniently within their daily living areas.

□ Mayor Park stated, “Dalmaji Park will be developed as a naturalistic park where ecology, landscape, and culture coexist. By linking it with the Haeundae Tourism Belt, it is expected to contribute to revitalizing the local economy and enhancing tourism competitiveness.” He added, “Urban parks are key infrastructure that embody the vision of Busan as a distributed city. We will continue to expand such parks so that all citizens can enjoy comfortable and accessible green spaces in their daily lives.”