Hongbak Village Park, created 16 years ago, has been reborn as a neighborhood park designed to ease residents' inconveniences and offer more space to rest.
Seodaemun-gu announced Tuesday that it had completed renovation work on Hongbak Village Park in Hongeunil-dong, transforming it into a community-oriented park that all generations can use safely and comfortably.
Located on top of the No. 4 public parking lot in Hongeunil-dong, the 2,679-square-meter park serves as a rest area for local residents. With the Hongeunil Dodam Library and the Pobangter Senior Center nearby, it functions as a hub for children, parents and elderly residents alike, and regularly hosts community events.
Rather than adding new facilities, the renovation focused on addressing the specific inconveniences residents had experienced while using the park.
The area around the pavilion had long featured uneven ground that made it easy to trip while walking, and residents using wheelchairs, strollers or canes had difficulty getting around.
Taking residents' feedback into account, the district repaved the section with permeable blocks to create a level surface and repainted the aging pavilion, improving both safety and ease of use.
Getting around inside the park has also become much easier.
A new walkway was built through a green strip that had blocked passage between the basketball court and the playground, and part of the green area was opened up to create a natural flow of movement. The previously enclosed space now has clear sightlines, and a safety net was installed behind the basketball hoop to prevent balls from flying out.
Spaces for children and families have also been enriched.
The existing sand playground has been replaced with basket swings for safer play, and a dry barefoot trail has been added in response to growing interest in health and wellness. Children can run and play while elderly residents walk barefoot to look after their health.
The park's appearance has also been transformed into a green retreat worth visiting in every season.
The district planted 150 trees across three species — including Japanese kerria and golden euonymus — along with 1,466 seasonal flowers across 13 varieties such as hydrangea, lily, Korean aster and daylily, plus 526 sheets of mondo grass matting, so visitors can enjoy a different landscape with each season.
Landscaping stones salvaged from other construction sites were reused to create garden features, achieving the dual effect of resource recycling and budget savings.
"A good park is less about size and more about how often and how comfortably residents use it," Seodaemun-gu district mayor Park Woon-ki said. "I believe that changing spaces one by one — where children can play freely, elderly residents can rest comfortably and neighbors can naturally come together — is where community-centered governance begins."
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