UIJEONGBU — Chudong Forest Garden in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, has reopened as a barrier-free urban forest park designed so that people with limited mobility can use the entire site without obstruction.
The city said it held an opening ceremony for the Chudong Forest Garden Barrier-Free Happiness Trail on the 18th near the park's water play area, with about 100 residents attending.
The project got under way after the city won the top award in Gyeonggi Province's Gyeonggi FIRST competition in 2020, securing 5 billion won in special adjustment grants as seed funding. Over about six years starting in 2020, the city invested a total of 7.9 billion won to complete the first section, measuring 1.3 kilometers, and the second section, measuring 1.4 kilometers, and to link them into a single continuous route.
The first section runs from the Neunggol entrance in Singok-dong to the water play area, and the second continues from there to Haneul Madang, the plaza at the summit. Stairs and curbs were removed and gradients lowered along a barrier-free deck path installed throughout, allowing wheelchair users, older adults, people pushing strollers and others with limited mobility to reach the top safely.
The city also reorganized the surrounding space. In addition to the barrier-free path, it built a 2.7-kilometer perimeter trail that circles the entire forest. At the summit, it added Haneul Madang, a viewing area for sunrises and sunsets, and Jatnamu Shelter, a resting spot in a dense stand of pine trees.
Including existing walking paths, Chudong Forest Garden now offers an urban walking network totaling 8.8 kilometers.
"The Chudong Forest Garden Barrier-Free Happiness Trail goes beyond simply building a walking path. It is a core achievement of green welfare, guaranteeing that all residents, including those with limited mobility, can enjoy the benefits of the forest equally," Uijeongbu Mayor Kim Won-ki said. "We will continue to expand high-quality park infrastructure so that residents can enjoy nature safely and comfortably close to their daily lives."
