Chungcheongnam-do

The Chungnam Provincial Office ushers in a new era in the new provincial capital of Naepo. All of the offices and bureaus will be moved to the new town between 18 and 28 December to greet the New Year in the new headquarters.

The Chungnam Provincial Office, which was originally hosted in Gongju, was relocated to Daejeon in 1932 under Japanese colonial rule. However, since 1989 when Daejeon was raised to a city, controversies have been fueled that the provincial capital should be relocated. After many years of discussions, the newtown (Naepo) built in the areas of Hongseong and Yesan was finally selected as a host city of the Provincial Office in 2006. Naepo is expected to play a pivotal role for the development of Chungnam by becoming a regional hub in the era of Pan Yellow Sea Rim.

Background of Capital Relocation

The Provincial Office of Chungnam was first established in Gongju, the ancient capital of Baekje, in 1896 during the Joseon Dynasty when Chungcheong-do was divided into Chungcheongnam-do (Chungnam Province) and Chungcheongbuk-do (Chungbuk Province). After 36 years, the office was relocated to Daejeon, a new provincial capital, which later evolved into a hub of transportation with rapid growth. However, as Daejeon was raised to a city and separated from the Province in 1989, many have argued for the need to relocate the Provincial Office. Because of the separation, Chungnam’s standing was significantly affected, and administrative inefficiency and low fiscal independence emerged as obstacles to balanced local development. Especially, as Daejeon is located in the south-east of the Province, residents in the north-west counties, such as Seosan, Taean and Dangjin, had to bear much inconvenience including the waste of time and money. Against this backdrop, it was finally concluded in February 2006 that the Provincial Office would be relocated to the new town to be built in the area combining Hongbuk-myeon of Hongseong-gun and Sabgyo-eup of Yesan-gun.

Naepo as Hub of Chungnam

Naepo is a planned town to be built in 9.95 million m² area encompassing Hongbuk-myeon of Hongseong-gun and Sabgyo-eup of Yesan-gun. Chungnam aims to complete this new town that can accommodate 100,000 people or 38,500 households by 2020. The construction commenced on 16 June 2009 and a total of 121 provincial agencies and organizations including the Provincial Office, Provincial Police Agency and Provincial Education Office will be moved to the town by the end of 2013. Andthe building of Provincial Office (Land Area: 231,000 m², Building Area: 102,331 m², 6 above-ground plus 2 underground floors) that can house about 1,320 public servants will be a landmark of the new town.

Naepo as a provincial capital has many advantages. First, it is located at the center of the Province making the Office more accessible for residents. Second, the town surrounded by mountains like Yongbong Mountain is laden with green forests and close to local attractions such as Sudeoksa Temple and Deoksan Hot Springs. Third, it is conveniently positioned in terms of transportation. (13km to West Coast Highway, 8km to Daejeon-Dangjin Highway, 3km to Janghang (Railroad) Line). The town is within about 1-2 hours distance from the Seoul Metropolitan area and 2-3 hours distance from the southern part of Korea via National Highways 1, 29, 30 and 45.

Development Direction for Naepo

Naepo will be developed as a multi-functional city with its focus on administrative functions. Various complexes -- an administrative town (318,000 m²), business complex (133,000 m²), commercial complex (363,000 m²), industrial complex (990,000 m²) and residential area (2,664,000 m²) -- will be built surrounding the Provincial Office at the center.

Naepo will also become an environmentally-friendly city with its population density at about 100 people per ha. One of the objectives to reach this goal is to make Naepo a carbon-neutral city by actively adopting zero-carbon facilities and new and renewable energy systems. In particular, the town will install its sewage and waste treatment systems underground, under the slogan of building “a city with no walls, garbage, utility polls, pedestrian overpasses and disorderly advertisement boards.” In addition, 51 parks (Total Area: About 1.2 million m²) including children’s parks and neighborhood parks, two-way bicycle lanes (Width: 15 m ­ at least two-way two-lane, Distance: 70.1 km) with 28 different routes and a public golf course (Area: 512,000 m²) will be constructed.

The new town was also designated as a special district for international cultural education by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy in December 2008. A total of 102.8 billion won including subsidies from the central government will be invested in building a lifelong education center, operating after-school English programs and upgrading vocational high schools to specialized, autonomous high schools to make Naepo as a city best for education in the central part of Korea. Other public facilities include five community centers (39,000 m²), one cultural center (80,000 m²) and one medical center (54,000 m²).