In the era of rapid economic growth and industrialization, railways provided stable and steady transportation of people and goods. Today, in South Korea, KTX(Korea Train eXpress) is functioning as the principal axes of the national mobility. However, as time passes and various modes of mobility and the ways of transportation are invented and introduced in the real world, the car traffics on the roads has explosively increased leaving the old-fashioned railways behind and being the nuisances of expansion of the urban area. The urban section of Jeolla-line having passed through Gwangju Metropolitan City since 1930 was also the case, exacerbating the traffic jams and accidents in the city center, thus, pointed out as the hindrance of the sound flow of people and goods disrupting healthy and sustainable urban development. Gwangju Pureungil Park was born as the urban section of the railway has been relocated to the suburban area. Let's look at the story of Pureungil park, which is functioning as the green axis of the town and the sound corridor of bicycle users and walkers.

Gwangju was a merely small-sized city with less than ten thousand population in the early 20th century. Same as other cities in South Korea, Gwangju has also experienced rapid expansion and suffered from consequent by-products. At the same time, Gwangju grew as one of the significant metropolitan cities accommodating 1.4 million people. Meanwhile, the urban section of Jeolla-line having passed through the center of the city since 1930 was pointed as the hindrance of the sound flow of people and goods disrupting healthy and sustainable urban development. As the metropolitan area expands and population grows, the inconveniences caused by the existence of the urban section of Jeolla-line exceeded the benefit it delivers.

The citizen living nearby the railway had suffered from the noise, vibration, and exhaust caused by the operation of the train pulled by old locomotives, and traffic jams and accidents at the crossing even worsen the citizens' quality of life. Besides, a large number of people from the suburb area have settled alongside the railway forming unplanned resident area, which was re-planned and readjusted in the late 1960s.

Citizen started igniting the voices requesting the relocation of the track in 1974. Gwangju citizens asked to remove the railway piercing through the city center(23 km) by constructing direct ways for transporting the industrial resources and goods. And the voices have bee referred to public opinion on the establishment of the citizens' committee for the relocation of urban tracks in June 1988 at last along with the signature-collecting campaign and advocacy on the challenges due from the urban tracks like traffic jams, car accidents, and the violation of the property rights.

In 1995, Gwangju had initially planned to sell out the urban railway sites and cover the cost for the construction of new railways but switched it to utilize for a public purpose following the public opinion. There have been several disputes on the utilization of the sites such as pocket parks, parking lots, residential buildings, or urban light rail system complementing the subway line No.1. In 1998, three hundred residents along the abandoned tracks submitted a petition requesting instalment of greenways, park, and bike path on the sites to the Gwangju Metropolitan City Council, and citizens groups like Gwangju Environment Movement support the petition by hosting a forum on the environment and people-friendly use of the site. In 1999, citizens organized citizens' society of making Pureungil park which operated various activities banning light rail system and fostering Pureungil park.

Through the three years-long conflicts and disputes among experts, civic groups, and citizen in the region, Gwangju Metropolitan Government finally decided to create an urban linear park on the site.

Since and during the restoration process, Pureungil park has been the hub of the revitalization of old towns of Gwangju working as three main axes for pedestrian, urban regeneration, and the culture of the city. Citizens' interests and donation of trees fostered green governance and drew various projects on revitalization and renewal of the old city center.

In 2012, all the sections of Pureungil were completed. And, the citizen is not mere participants but working as the leader and actors for the expansion and maintenance of the area. By developing and introducing the ecological and cultural contexts of the park and enriching the quality of living in Gwangju, Pureungil is positioning itself as the linear hub of citizens' participation, ecological, and cultural contexts.