Feature Gwangmyeong City Spreads Community Culture Blooming in Apartment Complexes Through 'Living Cousins'

Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seung-won) believes that the 'Living Cousins' project is bringing a warm wind to exchanges among neighbors in multi-family housing complexes.

'Living Cousins' is a project that supports residents living in the same apartment complex to naturally meet and exchange through shared everyday interests and common issues, enabling residents to independently create changes in their community.

◇ Expanded from 3 groups in 2024 to 19 groups in 2026... Community built and nurtured by residents

As of July 1, 2026, multi-family housing accounts for 89.7% of all housing types in Gwangmyeong City, establishing itself as a major residential form. However, this has led to decreased exchanges among neighbors and the emergence of lifestyle conflicts such as noise between floors.

The city is supporting resident-led community activities to help solve these lifestyle issues through communication and exchange among neighbors. Rather than grand initiatives, the aim is that small meetings where neighbors share hobbies, prepare festivals together, prepare food, and ask about each other's well-being build trust between neighbors and lead to the power to solve problems together.

The Living Cousins project expands in scale each year. Starting with 3 groups in 2024, it expanded to 11 groups in 2025 and 19 groups in 2026. The budget also increased from 30 million won in 2024 to 80 million won each in 2025 and 2026.

The changes in Living Cousins are difficult to explain by numbers alone. The significance lies in 'neighbors' naturally forming in apartment complex spaces and relationships of living together gradually becoming stronger.

A representative example is the 'Hanulttari' group at Haemoroiyeon Apartment, which participated in Living Cousins in 2025.

The group representative, Mr. Lee, said, "One day while sitting alone in the apartment's lawn plaza looking around, I thought there were more 'strangers' than 'neighbors,'" and added, "I decided to 'turn strangers into close neighbors' and formed meetings with residents to participate in the Living Cousins project."

◇ From festivals, cultural arts, and sharing to solving noise between floors... Lifestyle changes created by neighbors

Thereafter, Mr. Lee prepared various programs with residents including knitting, making basil pesto and sandwiches, and a Chuseok celebration for the whole family within the complex, creating opportunities for neighbors to naturally meet.

Mr. Lee said, "While preparing the event, there was a change where walls between neighbors came down through the process of understanding each other and sharing hearts, and even small greetings led to smiles," and added, "I felt the fun of communicating with new neighbors."

A resident, Ms. Kim, who participated in the Chuseok event, said, "I initially came out to watch the event, but ended up laughing and talking with my children on the lawn, and came to know the neighbors' names and exchange greetings with them."

As such small exchanges between neighbors accumulate through Living Cousins, the foundation of community living together in apartments is gradually becoming stronger.

This year, community activities are expanding beyond relationships between neighbors to jointly resolving lifestyle problems occurring in apartment complexes. Zyther Heritage 'Heri-Hi!' opens forums on noise between floors, and Cheolsan Prugio Haneulchae Residents' Representatives' Council conducts noise prevention campaigns to reduce conflicts among residents.

Cheolsan Central Prugio Residents' Representatives' Council is taking action to practice environmental conservation in daily life such as collecting expired medications, continuing activities by finding common issues that residents can solve together.

◇ Mayor Park Seung-won: "When people gather, the power to solve problems together emerges... will expand community culture"

The city operates preliminary consulting and vision-building workshops so residents can independently plan and sustain community activities. This year, 184 residents from 19 groups at 15 complexes participated in vision-building workshops and directly set the vision and community commitments for each group.

The city plans to expand community activities to multi-family housing complexes that have not yet participated in Living Cousins. From September to October, it will operate 'Living Cousins Pop-up Outreach,' visiting 4 complexes to promote and guide participation in the Living Cousins project.

In November, the city will hold an activity achievements sharing session to share residents' activity cases and display photos and works, sharing the accumulated results together.

Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won said, "When small relationships where neighbors know each other and ask about each other's well-being accumulate, the power of solidarity emerges to solve problems that are difficult to resolve alone," and added, "The city will continuously support Living Cousins so that residents naturally meet in daily life, look after each other's lives, and grow together, expanding community culture that emphasizes living with neighbors."