The aim of this study was to analyze differences in the perception of Gangwon-do residents using a satisfaction survey. The residents were found to be most satisfied with sectors such as parks/green spaces, landscape, and public order; however, they were least satisfied with transportation, culture, sports, medical services, and welfare facilities. Additionally, among all the items in the satisfaction survey, job satisfaction was the lowest. When comparing satisfaction trends observed in the city to those of the county, the overall satisfaction of the county was found to be slightly higher. This result could be attributed to young people being underrepresented in this survey in conjunction with the greater policy-level support for middle-aged people by from the government and Gangwon-do. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to create policies that primarily support young people and to also to create high-quality jobs with stable pay and employment prospects. This could minimize the outflow of youth and even encourage their inflow to similar small provincial cities. In Southern region and Seorak region of Gangwon-do, the satisfaction with gap between house price and region was low, which might be related to the increased demand for real estate throughout this area.

This study aims to review the differences in urban regeneration independently implemented by the government (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, MOLIT) and Seoul based on related laws and ordinances, and to draw out the implications of Korean urban regeneration’s directions. The results are as follows. First, Seoul has constantly responded to the revision of the Urban Regeneration Act by adjusting and specifying the contents of ordinances, and especially, there have been efforts to enhance regional characteristics suitably for the circumstances of Seoul. Second, in the urban regeneration of Seoul, the budgets including the matching ratio of national and local subsidies shall be changed according to the standards of the MOLIT in changing designating places after the selection of the urban regeneration by the ministry, and this procedure and these implementation methods cause confusion to Seoul and local governments. Third, there were differences in the results of comparing the budgets and support methods of the “Gaggum Housing Project” of Seoul and “New Deal Housing Repair Project” of the MOLIT, which caused conflicts due to the differences in the project implementation and support standards, and the arbitrary interpretation of the guidelines. Although the urban regeneration greatly contributed to the revelation and conservation of regional characteristics, it might be necessary to establish systems that can enhance citizens’ awareness and compensate the efficient contents needed for each region in the future.

This study aims to establish the measures required for strengthening the internal stability of and executing the systematic plan for Gangwon-do in relation to the “urban regeneration preliminary project” launched by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. The results of this study are as follows. The unit project carried out via the Gangwon-do urban regeneration preliminary project presented the tendency for the standardization of the H/W and S/W projects such as the establishment of the community anchor space and the resident competency reinforcement project. Further, rather than focusing on the contents that could objectively measure the effects of the project, it concentrated more on the performance indicators that are required for verifying the execution of unit projects like the establishment of buildings and operating programs. It was found to be insufficient with regard to the practicality of the project, the correlation with the New Deal Project, and the validity of the project contents. To improve these aspects, Gangwon-do would be required to highlight its distinguishability from the other regions and increase its practicality by operating the field-centered urban regeneration educational program, inducing the participation of experts in each of the areas in case there is a need to execute a project plan and discover a project with placeness. It also needs to focus on strengthening its connection with the urban regeneration new deal project by discovering the resident leaders and professional manpower, and establishing the performance indicators needed for systematically monitoring the regional changes in accordance to the urban regeneration preliminary project.

This study aims to suggest the direction of urban regeneration policies of Gangwon-do in accordance with COVID-19 outbreak, and the results are as follows. First, it is inevitable to urgently execute the project from the perspective of cities and counties in Gangwon-do, where the promotion of urban regeneration projects has been delayed due to COVID-19 incident. As a result, it is highly likely to cause the employees overloaded and have negative effect on achieving the goals of urban regeneration, so, it is necessary to provide support measures at the government and provincial level, such as the actual execution index and the adjusting time of start and completion of particular business. Second, as the uncertainty of COVID-19 continues, it needs to strengthen the operation and monitoring of urban regeneration support centers in Gangwon-do and examine the changes in business operation plans in advance. In particular, the decrease in visitors to traditional markets and restaurants is expected to have a direct effect on small business owners engaged in the service industry. Therefore, it is necessary to actively consider the utilization plans of smart city regeneration, such as online shopping and non-contact payment. Third, it is necessary to phase in smart urban regeneration training focused on information weakness to narrow the digital gap, in preparation for general lifestyle changes such as contactless and non-face-to-face interactions. At a time when new light is being shed on local areas, which are quieter than heavily populated cities, a project that reflects the regional characteristics and culture of Gangwon-do is necessary.

This research was conducted to propose the basic direction of a smart city plan for the satisfaction of residents of Gangwon-do . Initially, the awareness of smart cities among the residents of Gangwon-do was as follows: The response “I have no idea” was 21.7% higher and “I do not know the details, but have heard of it” was 15.1% lower than the awareness among residents across the nation. Based on these results, it was confirmed that awareness was very low despite the government’s smartification reinforcement policy. In addition, the residents of Gangwon-do expected that their time would be saved and their living convenience would increase but were worried that their privacy would be invaded and that the conflict between generations would intensify. Thus, it is necessary to develop a plan to enhance the awareness of smart cities, as well as a plan to enhance digital awareness. Second, based on the importance of and satisfaction with the urban problem response system examined among the residents of Gangwon-do, it seems necessary to prioritize improvements in public space control and administrative problem responses involving deteriorated parks/plazas, pedestrian environment, and administrative processing inefficiency and fairness. Additionally, the first prioritization priority of the residents of Gangwon-do was “health/welfare/medical service” (27.7%); the second and third highest priorities were “transportation service” (26.3%) and “environmental service” (19.0%), respectively. In particular, as “transportation service” was highly preferred in the Chuncheon and Wonju regions and “health/welfare/medical service” was highly preferred in the Gangneung, Sokcho, and other southern regions, it was confirmed that the level of urbanization is deeply associated with smart services.