BUSAN — A call has emerged for Busan to move quickly on building the "Yeongdo No. 1 Footbridge," which would directly link the Kkangkkangi Art Village in Yeongdo District with the Jagalchi Market in Jung District, two areas that face each other across 300 meters of water.
Kim Eun-myeong, a member of the Busan Metropolitan Council's Planning and Finance Committee representing Yeongdo District 1, urged the city on the 28th to begin an immediate review of turning the footbridge into an actual project. She spoke during a five-minute open-floor address at the first plenary session of the council's 339th extraordinary session.
Kim pointed to the inconvenience for pedestrians, who must make a long detour toward Yeongdo Bridge despite the two areas being within close reach of each other. Noting that the "Yeongdo ferry" that once ran between Daepyeong-dong and Jagalchi had served as a key means of daily transportation for residents, she said the footbridge should be treated as a matter of residents' mobility and the integration of the old downtown's living area, not merely as tourism infrastructure.
She noted in particular that follow-up steps have stalled even though the city formally laid out the footbridge plan in March this year through its "Yeongdo Centennial Revival Project." "The fact that the mayor has changed does not mean the need for a policy promised to citizens and the local community disappears," Kim said, arguing that an urgent review is needed to account for synergy across the entire old downtown in line with changed local conditions, including the Daepyeong-dong urban regeneration and the Jagalchi Centennial Market projects.
She also called for objective verification procedures to improve the plan's feasibility. Her proposal is to pursue a specialized technical study and a project feasibility study in parallel to produce multiple connection options, and to examine vessel passage issues, structural safety, pedestrian demand among residents and the ripple effects on the local economy from various angles.
"An official channel for gathering opinions that brings in Daepyeong-dong residents, Jagalchi merchants, the ship repair industry and port-related agencies must be set up as soon as possible," Kim said. "Busan must step up responsibly so that a new route linking Yeongdo and Jagalchi becomes a bridgehead for reviving residents' lives, merchants' livelihoods and the old downtown economy."
