He took into consideration the city’s signature landmarks and locations, and used their themes to design new bus stops. (image: Yonhap)
JEONJU, South Korea, Oct. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – Park Jin-soo, a 21-year-old police sergeant, came up with an idea to brighten up his city while looking at Jeonju’s bus stops every time he was on traffic duty. According to Park, the sight of weary passengers waiting for the bus at the city’s generic, uninspiring bus stops was somewhat saddening.
It was then that he came across a poster for the Jeonju Culture Idea Contest, themed “How to Make a City Beautiful,” and he didn’t hesitate to contribute his creativity.
Park’s idea was simple, but innovative.
He took into consideration the city’s signature landmarks and locations, and used their themes to design new bus stops.
He incorporated motifs from hanok, Korean traditional houses, for the stop at Jeonju’s Hanok Village, while for Jeonju’s World Cup Stadium, he embraced elements of soccer. Other stops also featured ideas drawn from nearby monuments, including Jeonju Moraenae Market (wholesale food market), Jeonju Train Station, and the Jeonju District Court.
Including Park, a total of 47 teams competed in the contest, but the grand prize ultimately went to the young sergeant.
“I used my spare time after work, researching online and visiting the sites myself,” he said. “I was offered mentoring sessions by the (contest’s) organizing committee, and based on the feedback, I finalized my ideas.”
“The final product was better than I had anticipated, and I’m still dazed by the fact that I won.”
Park is an engineer who graduated from a Meister School with a major in robotic automation, and he hopes to continue working in fields where engineering and arts collide once he completes his mandatory service as a police officer.
“I think useful ideas for everyday life can be discovered when engineering meets art,” he added. “I’ll be continuing my studies to become an expert in this field.”
Jeonju will be implementing Park’s ideas to transform bus stops across the city.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
