Gwangmyeong City Leads K-Arena Recruitment Bid...Unlimited K-Culture Potential with KTX and Third New City

Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seung-won) is strengthening its cooperative framework with the National Assembly and Gyeonggi Provincial Council to recruit a 'sports and performance multipurpose dome stadium (K-Arena)'.

On the 30th, the city held a 'working meeting for recruiting the sports and performance multipurpose dome stadium in Gwangmyeong' at the local office of National Assembly Member Im O-gyeong (Gwangmyeong Gap), and discussed cooperation and support measures among relevant institutions in preparation for the dome stadium construction competition led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Attending the meeting were Gyeonggi Provincial Council Member Shim Sang-rok, Gyeonggi Provincial Council Member Choi Min, Senior Secretary Kim Yeon-jin from the office of National Assembly Member Im O-gyeong, and Park Jin-suk, Director of the Culture and Tourism Division of Gwangmyeong City. They discussed ▲expanding interest and support at the level of Gyeonggi Provincial Council ▲policy coordination among the National Assembly member's office, Gyeonggi Provincial Council, and Gwangmyeong City ▲response measures for the central government competition ▲roles and cooperation matters by institution.

In particular, attendees exchanged opinions on how to link the sports and performance multipurpose dome stadium with future urban development resources, given that Gwangmyeong City possesses extensive transportation infrastructure including Gwangmyeong Station on the KTX high-speed rail line and future urban development resources such as the Gwangmyeong-Siheung Third New City and Gwangmyeong-Siheung Techno Valley.

Gwangmyeong City's plan is to develop the K-Arena not as a simple large-scale sports facility, but as a multipurpose cultural space combining K-Culture performances, sports, entertainment tech, information and communications technology (ICT), and various other industries and content.

Mayor Park Seung-won of Gwangmyeong City said, "The K-Arena will serve as a new growth foundation for Korea's cultural industry beyond enhancing Gwangmyeong City's cultural and sports competitiveness," and added, "We will closely cooperate with the National Assembly member's office and Gyeonggi Provincial Council to systematically respond to the central government competition and establish the foundation for project promotion."

Gwangmyeong City established a 'K-Arena Recruitment Policy Dedicated Task Force' in July of last year and completed the formulation of basic strategies for K-Arena recruitment. Currently, the city is conducting a 'Gwangmyeong K-Arena Recruitment Feasibility Study and Basic Planning Project' while receiving advice from experts in related fields such as culture and content, performance venues, and sports.

Going forward, the city plans to systematically elaborate a K-Culture multipurpose industry strategy encompassing sports, performances, information and communications technology (ICT), tourism, and shopping for K-Arena recruitment, establish a close cooperative system with Gyeonggi Province, and make every effort to attract national competitive project funding.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to begin the national competition process in October, undergo business proposal submission and evaluation in December, and announce the results for large-scale (50,000 capacity) and medium-scale (30,000 capacity) sites by the end of this December.