As residential areas expand, the city is strengthening urban functions by adding neighborhood facilities for exercise, culture and relaxation.
Gwacheon’s current projects fall into four categories: building and relocating community sports facilities, creating cultural-sports complexes, and expanding parks and amenity facilities. Over the medium to long term, the city plans to link these projects with medical and transportation infrastructure to broaden residents’ quality-of-life infrastructure across the city.
City officials are concentrating administrative resources on ensuring residents can access sports and cultural services close to home as new housing areas come online.
The largest project among Gwacheon’s sports infrastructure initiatives is the construction of a second indoor sports center at Gwanmun Sports Park in Gwanmun-dong. Construction began in April 2024, and the city aims to complete the facility by June 26 of this year. The building will span from one basement level to three aboveground floors, with a total floor area of 5,441.63 m². The total project cost is 31,155,000,000 KRW (approximately 23,366,250 USD), funded with 3,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 2,250,000 USD) in national funds, 26,355,000,000 KRW (approximately 19,766,250 USD) in city funds, 800,000,000 KRW (approximately 600,000 USD) in special grants, and 1,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 750,000 USD) in special adjustment grants. The facility will house a 25 m six-lane pool and a children’s pool, a fitness center, a fitness certification center, a multipurpose gymnasium, a climbing wall and classrooms. Gwacheon plans pilot operations in July–August and a public opening in September.
In the Munwon Sports Park area, the city is developing a parking garage, sports facilities and an indoor sports park. In Munwon-dong, a 27,847,000,000 KRW (approximately 20,885,250 USD) project will create a two-level underground parking lot with 180 spaces, a ground-level ground-golf course and management facilities. Detailed design began in November 2024; the city plans to complete design and administrative approvals by September 2026 and issue the construction tender in October 2026. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027 with a target completion in the second half of 2028.
On the former gateball-court site in Munwon-dong, the indoor sports park will be built at a total cost of 31,123,000,000 KRW (approximately 23,342,250 USD). Basic and detailed design work started in September 2025. The city expects to finish design and approvals by January 2027, begin construction in May 2027 and complete the project in the first half of 2029. The facility will include a bowling alley, four gateball courts, 16 table-tennis tables, a café and lounges.
Under the Galhyeon overpass of the Second Gyeongin Connector Highway, the city is creating a futsal field, a jokgu field, gateball courts, a basketball court and a multipurpose athletic field with an investment of 2,100,000,000 KRW (approximately 1,575,000 USD). Construction began in November 2025; the project is currently 70% complete, with a target completion date of April 2026.
The city is also expanding facilities to meet growing demand for park golf. On the B1 level of Gwacheon Penta One, a screen park-golf course was completed in December 2025. The project cost 480,000,000 KRW (approximately 360,000 USD), covered 333 m² and features eight tee stations.
This year, Gwacheon will create two nine-hole park-golf courses using the SK Energy parking site in Juam-dong and green space inside Gwanmun Sports Park. The total project cost is 590,000,000 KRW (approximately 442,500 USD). The SK Energy parking-site course targets completion in July 2026, and the Gwanmun Sports Park course is scheduled for March 2027.
The city is also reorganizing facilities within Gwanmun Sports Park. With a 600,000,000 KRW (approximately 450,000 USD) investment, crews will renovate the tennis courts and inline-skating rink: two basketball courts will be converted into three tennis courts, the inline rink will be reduced in size, and one basketball court will be added. The project is slated for completion in April 2026.
Gwacheon will build a cultural-sports facility in Neighborhood Park 4 of the Knowledge Information Town. Launched in 2020, the project carries a total budget of 23,500,000,000 KRW (approximately 17,625,000 USD) to construct a building from one basement level to the third floor with a total floor area of 3,438 m². Funding includes 4,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 3,000,000 USD) in national funds, 10,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 7,500,000 USD) in city funds, 500,000,000 KRW (approximately 375,000 USD) in special grants, 2,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 1,500,000 USD) in special adjustment grants, and 7,000,000,000 KRW (approximately 5,250,000 USD) from LH. The facility will feature a pool, a gym, a fitness center, group-exercise rooms and a book café. Construction began in November 2025 and is expected to finish by July 2027.
The city is pursuing cultural infrastructure upgrades alongside these projects. Planned work includes remodeling the civic center and building a library and a mixed-use public facility in the Knowledge Information Town. Adding new cultural venues to the existing civic center, Chusa Museum, Gyeonggi Sori Training Center, Information Science Library and Munwon Library should broaden residents’ access to cultural services within their neighborhoods.
Alongside the Knowledge Information Town cultural-sports facility, the city is expanding green space and amenities. The Knowledge Information Town will include a park of about 440,000 m², and the city will convert the top of the sewage treatment plant into parkland while renovating aging downtown parks and children’s playgrounds to increase local recreation space.
Over the medium and long term, Gwacheon will modernize its resource recovery center. From 2018 to 2031, the city plans to invest 112,400,000,000 KRW (approximately 84,300,000 USD) to build and upgrade incineration facilities with a 100-ton-per-day capacity and to create resident amenities that include a main six-lane and auxiliary three-lane pool, seven table-tennis courts, two tennis courts and one futsal field.
Gwacheon will begin detailed design and an economic feasibility review in April 2026 and expects to sign construction contracts and break ground in March 2027. In addition, the city plans to develop a provisional “Gwacheon Gymnasium” with a total floor area of 4,592 m² above the sewage treatment plant inside the Gwacheon public housing district, delivered to the city through developer contributions such as LH’s gift-in-kind.
A city official said, “We will phase in enhancements to living infrastructure by linking the new comprehensive medical facility with transport projects such as the Isu–Gwacheon composite tunnel, Gwacheon Information Town Station, GTX-C and the Wirye–Gwacheon Line.”
Gwacheon = Reporter Kim Dong-sung
