PAJU — The city of Paju in Gyeonggi Province plans to build a large landmark park above GTX Unjeong Jungang Station, a station on the Great Train Express commuter rail line. With private development around the station stalled by the construction slump, the city aims to speed up work on a public hub of its own to revitalize the station area in the Unjeong 3 district.
Paju said on the 16th that it held a briefing on the Unjeong 3 District GTX Culture Park project with the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) at city hall the previous day, where the two sides shared detailed plans for the park and the direction of future work.
The briefing was part of the city's flagship pledge to develop a landmark around the GTX station area. Paju Mayor Son Bae-chan, LH Paju Business Division head Choi Rak-woo and officials from LH's urban landscape department attended to review the design and operating plans for the park, which is set to break ground soon.
The GTX Culture Park is a specialized space to be built on a 28,000-square-meter site above Unjeong Jungang Station at a total project cost of 14.5 billion won ($10.2 million). Paju and LH have worked closely since 2024 on the spatial layout, signature facilities and landscape plans to complete the detailed design.
The park will house a range of facilities blending culture, art and leisure. Centered on its signature landmark, "Runway 350," the park will include Unjeong Cloud Plaza, Unjeong Well Plaza and Shade Sculpture Plaza, each reinterpreting symbols of Paju.
It will also feature a gallery hall, a concert hall and an active hall, designed to host exhibitions, performances and rest as well as cultural activities tied to tourism. At night, distinctive lighting, a phosphorescent stone walkway and lighting projected onto trees will provide attractions around the clock.
The city plans to begin full-scale construction in November and complete the park by the first half of 2029.
"The GTX Culture Park will be a space where residents enjoy culture and connect with one another, and a key hub that breathes new life into the station area," Son said. "We will work closely with LH to carry out the park project without setbacks and link it organically with the main projects in the Unjeong 3 district to successfully complete the Unjeong new town."