2020 Was Vigorous for Osan City...Osan Selects 'Top 10 City Administration News'

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] On the 17th, Osan City selected the top 10 city administration news for 2020, including the establishment of the Osan-style COVID-19 response model and the declaration of an AI special city.

Mayor Gwak Sang-wook said, "The precious achievements accomplished this year, despite the unprecedented difficult circumstances of COVID-19, were made possible thanks to over 1,000 civil servants and 240,000 Osan citizens actively working together," and added, "Next year, we will mobilize all administrative capacity to return to normalcy in all sectors and revitalize citizens' lives and the economy."

1. Creating the Osan-style COVID-19 Response Model

The city actively worked with citizens to prevent infection and support those affected, minimizing the negative impact of COVID-19. When a mask shortage occurred early this year, a citizen volunteer group attracted attention from local governments nationwide through the 'Warm Mask Sharing Project,' which manufactured and freely distributed masks, and even shared response cases with France on the other side of the globe.

The city also actively promoted business environment improvement funds, shop reopening support, and special guarantees and interest support for small merchants struggling with COVID-19. Osan City's disaster basic income was provided 100% in local currency 'Osaek-jeon' to support the local small merchant economy.

2. Jukmi-ryeong Peace Park Opens—'From War to Peace'

The Osan Jukmi-ryeong Peace Park, a venue for inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation and a symbolic place of Korea-U.S. friendly alliance, officially opened on July 5th.

The Jukmi-ryeong Peace Park reconstructed the significance of the U.S. Smith Unit being first dispatched as UN forces during the Korean War and engaging in the first battle at Jukmi-ryeong, providing time for Korean and UN allied forces to counterattack. The park was developed on a 134,000-square-meter site with a UN Forces Initial Battle Memorial Hall, Smith Peace Hall, and a themed park.

3. Gwol-dong Hwamok Village Selected for Urban Regeneration New Deal Project

Hwamok Village in the old Gwol-dong district of Osan City, a long-neglected area, was selected as a target site for the Urban Regeneration New Deal project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The city will implement urban regeneration projects over 24.3 billion won through 2024.

The city designated this area as a new town in 2011 and dedesignated it as a residential redevelopment district in 2014. While the area once experienced intensified conflicts among residents, its selection this year as an urban regeneration new deal project site is expected to be an opportunity to promote harmony among residents and restore community.

4. Declaration of 'Education-Based AI Special City Osan'

Osan City recently declared its pursuit of an 'education-based AI special city,' pledging to establish an AI-based urban system in all administrative sectors—including education, culture, transportation, and safety—to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.

The vision is to transform the entire city into a 'smart education city.' Accordingly, the city set three policy directions: innovation of AI-based city administration and urban management systems, reorganization of AI-based urban structure, and AI-centered transition of the education city system.

The development concept of the Unam-tteul complex is being set as an AI-centered complex, and the city plans to establish an AI-specialized high school, support future education based on edutech, and develop TEG campus to build customized AI education infrastructure for students and citizens.

5. Launch of 'Osan Village Education Community'—The Whole Village as School

In 2020, the education city of Osan advanced one step further in realizing autonomous education with the launch of the 'Osan Village Education Community.'

The village education community, launched on October 24th, is a community model where citizens support schools in the village and, through each person's role performance, nurture school communities centered on education and grow together. Through this community, Osan City plans to open an era of autonomous education and, on that foundation, usher in a genuine era of citizen-centered autonomous decentralization.

6. International Education Forums Held Consecutively—"Finding Future Education Together"

Osan City, advancing as a global education city, held the 2020 Osan Global Lifelong Learning Forum followed by the Second Osan International Forum on Future Education. The '2020 Osan Global Lifelong Learning Forum' (webinar) to conceptualize the post-COVID era 'Green Learning City' drew massive participation from member cities of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC)—174 cities worldwide—and 177 domestic lifelong learning cities.

Mayor Gwak Sang-wook introduced Osan's learning city examples—including the Warm Mask project, stepping-stone classrooms, and exclamation mark schools—under the theme of 'Healthy Wellness Green Learning City' to countries around the world through video and presentation. The Second Osan International Forum on Future Education discussed the transformation of educational paradigms in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era and the untact COVID-19 era, as well as the present and future of artificial intelligence and industrial change.

7. Construction of Nature Ecology Experience Center—Opening Public Facilities

The Osan Nature Ecology Experience Center, a creative administration model that opens city hall spaces to citizens for communication and engagement, was constructed.

Built with purely private capital with zero municipal budget investment, the Nature Ecology Experience Center covers 3,972 square meters and features four themed spaces—a nature hall, life hall, science hall, and Osan hall—along with 20 detailed content spaces. It is set to become a genuine new landmark of Osan as an education city and serve as a hands-on experience and learning venue for flora and fauna.

8. Development of 'Osan's Gateway' Unam-tteul Complex Accelerating

Development of the 750-billion-won Unam-tteul complex, a long-cherished project for Osan City pursued for over a decade, is now in full swing.

Scheduled for ground-breaking in 2022 and completion in 2024, the Unam-tteul complex in Osan City's Won-dong is preparing to become an AI-centered complex. The 686,932-square-meter site will supply knowledge industry facilities land, residential housing, and complex use land. Osan City plans to primarily attract AI industry to the knowledge industry facilities land.

9. Inseong Edu-Town 'Pet-Themed Park' Breaks Ground

A project to transform the top of the wastewater treatment plant—once a primary source of odor problems—by covering it and converting it into an eco-friendly pet-themed park has broken ground.

Initiated through the creative ideas of young Osan civil servants, the themed park began construction in June and is scheduled for completion in July 2021 with an area of 10,973 square meters and a total building area of 2,941 square meters.

Along with the themed park, a dog café, dog hotel, behavioral correction clinic, and animal-assisted therapy room will be located within the pet center. Rather than a simple shelter facility, it will become a space for preventing animal abuse and respecting life.

10. Osan Stream Small Garden Project in Full Swing

As the Osan Stream ecological river restoration project approaches completion, the next phase—a citizen project to transform the stream into a small garden embracing nature—is now in full swing.

The small garden project began with the first installation near the Osan Stream wooden bridge in 2018. Participating citizens have steadily increased and support has strengthened, with 88 gardens created by November and over 100 expected to be completed by year-end.

The city plans to create small gardens with citizens not only along the Osan Stream but also in vacant urban spaces to improve the landscape and raise awareness of the importance of green spaces created and maintained together.