통합특별시 성공의 조건⑪] 공동체의 축 영산강..통합의 물길 될까[목포MBC 뉴스데스크]

[Mokpo MBC News] ◀ Anchor ▶ With the launch of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, good news has arrived, including an 800 trillion won semiconductor investment. Amid growing expectations for a major transformation of the industrial structure, devising a plan to utilize the Yeongsan River, the long-standing common axis of Jeonnam and Gwangju, is also a task for the Integrated Special City. Reporter Park Jong-ho reports. ◀ Report ▶ The Taehwa River in Ulsan, once called the "River of Death." Through water quality improvement, ecological restoration projects, and the creation of civic spaces, it has been transformed into a national garden. The river, once ailing from industrialization, has become a symbolic space representing the city. --Screen Transition----------------- The Yeongsan River, flowing from Damyang through Jangseong and Gwangju, passing through Naju, Yeongam, and Mokpo, to the West Sea. [S/U] As Jeonnam and Gwangju, which were separated 40 years ago, have united as one, how to utilize this river is emerging as another challenge for integration. The Yeongsan River, 150 kilometers long, serves as the central axis of people, goods, and culture connecting Jeonnam and Gwangju. ◀ INT ▶ Kang Bong-ryong, Professor Emeritus at Mokpo University and Historian "We can view the Yeongsan River as the site where a 'Yeongsan River Civilization'—a civilization representative of Jeollanam-do—arose. In that sense, the Yeongsan River can be seen as the river of Jeonnam's civilization." Local governments are planning or promoting Yeongsan River-related projects, such as Gwangju's Y-Project, Naju's Yeongsan River Garden, and the creation of a Mahan historical space in Yeongam. Attention is now focused on how the Special City will formulate a joint project to connect these scattered initiatives along the Yeongsan River. Special City Mayor Min Hyeong-bae has put forward a pledge for the ecological transformation of the Yeongsan River, including the creation of a national garden. His plan is to build the city's competitiveness through an integrated strategy that combines transportation, industry, and daily life, rather than through the development of individual sites. ◀ INT ▶ Min Hyeong-bae, Mayor of the Integrated Special City of Jeonnam-Gwangju "We need to select appropriate areas to develop the Yeongsan River National Garden on a large scale, so that citizens can rest here and we can build an ecologically healthy environment." With the attraction of semiconductor and data centers worth 800 trillion won, the importance of water quality improvement is also growing. Along with administrative integration, the task of transforming the integrated special city into a growth city and a future community based on ecology and culture lies before it. This is Park Jong-ho from MBC News.