Changwon City is transforming the former urban park, Daesang Park, into a private park, with a private developer donating 87.3% of the park area to the city for park facilities, while constructing 1,779 apartment units on the remaining 12.7%.
The Big Tree is a key facility in this Daesang Park development project. With an investment of 34.4 billion won, it is being constructed over a total area of 1,257 square meters, and the current construction progress is at 90%. However, as the actual structure has turned out to be far less appealing than the previously released aerial views, citizens have been voicing their criticisms.
Initially, the Big Tree was designed to resemble a giant tree with a height of 40 meters.
However, due to concerns about safety issues, such as vulnerability to natural disasters during various review processes, it was changed to its current cylindrical and awkward tree shape. Notably, the 20-meter tall 'Jeongipumsong' that was to be placed in the center was excluded following safety concerns raised by the landscape review committee, and most of the smaller artificial trees were also removed. Currently, citizens are criticizing it, calling it 'Bald Tree' or 'Drum Can'.
In response to these criticisms, Changwon City has begun to devise countermeasures. First, they plan to temporarily open the Big Tree at the end of this month to gather citizens' opinions and then review improvement plans. Acting Mayor Jang Geum-yong stated, "We will reflect the citizens' opinions and prepare improvement measures."
[Changwon, Choi Seung-kyun]
