Chungju’s young mayor wants to build future worth staying for

Newly elected Mayor Lee Dong-seok outlines plans for jobs, industry and tourism, with an overseas push ahead of Visit Chungju Year 2027

For newly elected Chungju Mayor Lee Dong-seok, making Chungju a “young city” is about more than the age of its residents.

“A young city is one that is not afraid to try new things, responds quickly to change and allows young people to picture their future here,” the mayor said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.

Elected in June, Lee drew attention as the youngest local government head in North Chungcheong Province at age 40. He has made a “young Chungju” a defining theme of his administration.

“More important than being a young mayor is showing, through actual results, the changes that a young mayor can make,” he said.

Jobs are central to that effort.

Chungju is already home to Hyundai Elevator, Hyundai Mobis and companies in the battery and biotech sectors, Lee said. He wants to connect that industrial base with new AI and robotics businesses.

“Chungju is not starting its future industries from scratch,” he said. “What matters now is going beyond attracting new companies and connecting our existing industries with those coming in.”

Lee sees a data center as a starting point for an AI industry ecosystem that could attract related companies and research institutions.

On his first overseas business trip since taking office, he visited Shenzhen, China, where a Chungju delegation signed a strategic investment and cooperation agreement with industrial automation company Shenzhen Inovance Technology. Lee also discussed opportunities for AI and robotics companies to work with Chungju.

“I want to build a future city that leads to actual investment, jobs and an industrial ecosystem, rather than one that remains a plan,” he said.

Lee’s approach to promoting Chungju is less formal. He is willing to make fun of himself in short videos if it gets people talking about the city.

“I think the greatest strength of social media is that it lets us communicate directly with residents, without being bound by formality,” he said.

On his YouTube channel, Lee Dong-seok TV, the mayor edits and posts videos in which he appears in humorous situations to promote Chungju. Most run for less than 30 seconds.

His criteria for choosing a topic are straightforward: “Can it get Chungju noticed one more time? And can it bring me closer to residents?”

“If making a bit of a fool of myself means Chungju gets mentioned once more, I think that alone has promotional value,” he said.

In one video, titled “Chungju Magistrate: Jangmi Fortress,” he appears dressed as a satto, or traditional local magistrate, holding roses instead of swords.

The joke plays on jangmi, the Korean word for “rose,” which sounds like the first part of the fortress’s name, though the name has nothing to do with the flower.

Lee said humor has its limits. He wants to explain major city policies clearly in his own voice, while using trends and entertainment to introduce festivals, tourism and everyday life.

Four years from now, he hopes residents will judge the city by what has changed beyond its image.

“If people say, ‘Chungju has definitely grown younger,’ ‘There are new opportunities here’ and ‘I’m more excited about its future,’ that would be my greatest achievement,” he said.

Chungju on foreign travelers' maps

Lee is also trying to introduce Chungju to a wider international audience.

About 330,000 foreign visitors traveled to the city last year, up 8.1 percent from the previous year, according to the city’s analysis of Korea Tourism Data Lab figures.

For Lee, the next step is encouraging visitors to stay longer and experience more of the city.

“We need to go beyond increasing visitor numbers and make Chungju a city where people stay to experience its nature, history, culture and food,” he said.

Chungju is preparing a “Visit Chungju Year” campaign for 2027.

This October, The Korea Herald and the Chungju Culture and Tourism Foundation plan to organize a familiarization tour for diplomats based in Korea to introduce the city internationally.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and members of the diplomatic corps are expected to take part, Lee said.

The itinerary is designed to present several sides of the city in one trip, from Hyundai Elevator’s manufacturing facilities to traditional culture, temple food, local liquor and Jungangtap Historic Park.

“We want to show Chungju’s many faces as a single journey,” Lee said.

He plans to use overseas media, international networks and video content to promote a city that visitors will “come to experience, stay in and want to visit again.”

Asked where he would take a foreign guest if he had just one day, Lee chose Chungju Lake and the Jungangtap area.

The lake offers views of the surrounding landscape, while Jungangtap is home to the seven-story stone pagoda at Tappyeong-ri, a National Treasure. A stop at Jungangtap Historic Park is planned for the diplomatic tour.

He would make sure the diplomats to try local food, too. Along with temple cuisine and liquor made from regional produce, Lee recommends buckwheat noodles and buckwheat fried chicken near Jungangtap. The pairing has a local nickname: chimak.

“A day bringing together nature, history, culture and food — that is the Chungju I want to show foreign visitors,” he said.