At 4:00 p.m. on June 27, a ceremony was held in Mangpo-dong, Suwon-city to name a newly opened 1.38 km long, six-lane street “Park Ji-sung” Street, with the soccer star himself, Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, Suwon Mayor Kim Yong-suh and local residents attending. 

When the then governor-elect Mr. Sohn Hak-kyu paid a visit to the soccer star’s home in Suwon right after he made a goal in the match with the national team of Portugal on June 17, 2002 during the 2002 World Cup, which qualified Korea to join the Round of Sixteen, local residents asked him to open a new street between Sin-dong and Mangpo-dong. Mr. Sohn Hak-kyu suggested that the new street be named Park Ji-sung Street. 

Several days before the ceremony, Park Ji-sung paid a visit to the Gyeonggi Governor to express his gratitude for naming the street in honor of him. 

It cost a total of 31.5 billion won to build the new street. About 10,000 trees, including zelkovas and vine roses, were planted along the street. A 3.5m×2.0m-sized character of the soccer player was set up in the 163-pyeong (=540 ㎡) Ssamji Park. A 90 pyeong (=300 ㎡) space was formed and named Park Ji-sung Forest, with meta-sequoias and spindle trees surrounding it. Two resting places sized 35 pyeong, respectively, were also made, with one of them named Ji-sung. 

The 86 m-long sound-absorbing wall along the street shows photos of the soccer star playing in games and his foot images. At 3:30 p.m. on the same day, the Suwon World Cup Stadium Management Foundation (President: Sohn Hak-kyu) held an opening ceremony for the Park Ji-sung Section on the first floor of the stadium, with the soccer star attending. The special section will display his uniforms, shoes (including those he wore when he made a goal in the main match of the UEFA Champion’s League) and various souvenirs he collected from international events. 

A Gyeonggi Provincial Official said, “We hope the Park Ji-sung Street will become a place of interest for all Koreans and that he will be able to play more nicely in foreign countries, remembering that there are many fans rooting for him back home.”