Chungcheongnam-do

Chungnam made a grand announcement to the nation on the start of the Naepo era.

On April 4th, the opening ceremony of the newly constructed Chungnam provincial government complex was held in Baekje Mall, the central plaza of the complex located in the Naepo New City, in the presence of President Park, Geun-hye and 5,000 community leaders.

The most sizeable event in the history of the Chungnam municipality is especially meaningful as the very first provincial gathering where President Park attended since her inauguration on February 25th, as well as the very first opening ceremony of a provincial government complex attended by the incumbent president.

Under the slogan of ＆Happy Chungnam, opening a brand new century＊, the ceremony consisted of pre-ceremony, main ceremony, post-ceremony and permanent event open to public participation. The pre-ceremony began by cutting rice cake made of different rices produced in 15 cities and counties, followed by a Binari (wish-making ritual) performance by Lee, Gwang-su, a traditional musician from Yesan County, congratulatory video messages and a drum performance by Chungnam Traditional Music Orchestra and Chungnam Institute for Traditional Performing Art.

The main ceremony, starting witha Chitadae (traditional military band) performance, featured a commemorative speech by Governor An, Hee-jung and a congratulatory remark by President Park, followed by the 'declaration of the Chungnam vision', proposing policy directions for the next 100 years.

Governor An said in his speech, "Withstanding the colonial period, national division and the devastating Korean War during the 80 years of Daejeon complex, Chungnam, as the central region of the nation, has been fulfilling its responsibilities throughout the history of modern Korea, from industrialization in the 1970s and 1980s, to the relocation to the second government complex in the 1990s and to the construction of the administrative capital, Sejong City in 2012", adding that "if Sejong is the icon of balanced development of the nation, the Naepo New City is the icon of balanced development of Chungnam."

President Park said, in her speech, "The emergence of the Pan-Yellow Sea (West Sea) Economic Belt places Chungnam in the pivotal position. The central government is committed to nurturing the promising region as the industrial and logistics hub."

The post-ceremony featured congratulatory performances by popular singers, Hong, Kyung-min and Tae, Jin-ah, and a performance of farmer's music. The permanent event consisted of exhibitions of local specialty products and a 'happiness policy ideas' booth.

Built within the Naepo New City located across Hongbuk, Hongseong County and Sapgyo, Yesan County, the 140,000 square-meter complex consists of four buildings: main building, congress, annex and the art hall. Following the site confirmation in February 2006, the construction kicked off in June 2009 and was completed and the new complex was housed in December 2012.