South Korea’s Jeju Province -home to Jeju Island, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature- won the Smart Green City Competition as a recognition for being a leading city in the country’s Green New Deal and Digital New Deal.
The Smart Green City Competition aims to improve the environment by investing 10 billion won for two years in the winning project. This year’s winner will establish an integrated system that optimizes the waste collection process along with a demonstration project that measures the household waste by weight. The project also aims to create an ecopark “that utilizes spring water and native species to form an area where citizens can relax and experience nature”.
This bet for new projects is framed in the work of the government of South Korea to promote the “Korean version of the New Deal”. According to the authorities, creating a smart energy city by transforming Jeju as a smart regional town is a desirable direction for the province.
In the last months of 2020, Jeju’s governor Won Hee-ryong launched the province’s New Frontier Strategy and announced Jeju’s new goal to become a Carbon Free Island for 2030.