Mayor Lee Hyun-jae leads visits to Copenhagen, Hamburg and Frankfurt
The city of Hanam has embarked on a benchmarking tour of leading European cities to find solutions for creating a world-class residential environment, waterfront mixed-use development and large-scale investment attraction.
According to the city Monday, the delegation departed Saturday for a six-night, eight-day trip running through Sept. 5, visiting Copenhagen in Denmark and Hamburg and Frankfurt in Germany. The tour aims to give shape to the vision of the city's ninth elected administration: "Hanam — the best city in the greater Seoul area, leading the future."
The delegation, led by Mayor Lee Hyun-jae and joined by the director of the economy and culture bureau, the head of the K-Star World team and the head of the urban strategy team, plans to observe best practices on the ground and apply them to the city's priority projects.
The first stop, Copenhagen, has ranked first in the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index for two consecutive years — 2025 and 2026. The delegation will meet with local agencies to discuss urban planning and residential environment policy, and will tour Nordhavn, a waterfront new town, and Fælledparken, one of the Nordic region's leading green spaces. The visits are intended to examine how parks, waterfront areas, cultural facilities and residential spaces are woven into daily life, with the findings to inform Hanam's own efforts to build a top-tier living environment.
In Hamburg, Germany's largest port city, the delegation will visit HafenCity — a former port district redeveloped into a mixed residential, commercial and cultural quarter — and the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. The city plans to draw on Hamburg's approach to waterfront and heritage-building redevelopment as it pursues large-scale projects including the K-Han River National Garden and the K-Culture Complex, known as K-Star World.
In Frankfurt, home to the ECB and a concentration of other financial institutions as well as major international trade fairs, the delegation will study the operational setup of Messe Frankfurt exhibition center and Deutsche Bank Park stadium. The group will also visit KOTRA's Frankfurt trade office to hear about the European investment climate and trends among promising companies.
"This benchmarking trip is not a simple sightseeing tour — it is a schedule devoted to finding answers for a first-rate residential environment, economic development and successful urban development," Mayor Lee said. "Under the principle that the answers lie in the field, we will verify as many cases as possible firsthand and connect them directly to Hanam's policies and projects."
Meanwhile, the city said Deputy Mayor Gong Jeong-sik will lead responses to key pending issues, public complaints and emergencies during the trip to minimize any gap in city administration.
pjh@heraldcorp.com
