"Revive Shingal O-geori's Former Glory"...Urban Regeneration Street Festival Draws 23,000 Visitors

Efforts to revive the economic boom of Shingal O-geori, a transportation hub in Giheung-gu, Yongin, that connects the nearby Gyeongbu Expressway with Yongin and Suwon, are becoming increasingly tangible.

Yongin Special City (Mayor Lee Sang-il) held the "2026 Shingal O-geori Urban Regeneration Street Festival" on the 24th around Shingal Stream (from Giheung Bridge to Galcheon Bridge). The festival was a great success, drawing approximately 23,000 citizens, reflecting public interest.

The festival, hosted by Yongin Special City and organized by the Yongin Cultural Foundation and Shingal Urban Regeneration Field Support Center, was promoted as part of the "Shingal O-geori Urban Regeneration Activation Project" aimed at reinvigorating the area around Shingal O-geori.

Alongside explanations of ongoing projects such as the shared platform and Gwangok Village Silver Care Center construction, the festival shared the meaning of urban regeneration and gained consensus on the purpose of creating a unique identity for Shingal O-geori and revitalizing the local commercial district.

The highlight of the festival was the lion mask street performance by "Gugak Inside," a village community group engaged in Shingal O-geori's urban regeneration project.

The lion mask street performance is a folk play traditionally performed throughout Yongin. The city plans to revive this practice as a culturally distinctive content for the region through the occasion of the Shingal O-geori urban regeneration project.

In particular, "Shingal Imdang" and "Galnae Village Docent," village community groups engaged in Shingal O-geori urban regeneration, provided diverse hands-on experiences such as crafts, making, and coloring, demonstrating citizens taking the lead in driving the project.

The Yongin Cultural Foundation also drew popularity with diverse citizen participation content including ▲ "Art Runner," an outreach cultural arts program ▲ busking performances by artists such as "I'm Busker" and "Youth Busker" ▲ collaborative creative art walls with Children's Day Cooperative ▲ giant character performance "Giant Baekdu," and more.

Mayor Lee Sang-il emphasized, "The city is investing approximately 56 billion won for various projects for the development of Shingal, the gateway to Yongin," and "By December this year, we will break ground on the Shared Platform, a multi-purpose community facility for citizens, with an investment of approximately 20 billion won, which will provide residential multipurpose shared spaces and commercial district activation centers."

In 2020, the city's "Shingal O-geori Urban Regeneration Project" was selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the Urban Regeneration Project, and the city is currently proceeding with an urban regeneration project to improve residential, living, and commercial environments around Shingal O-geori.