The northern Seoul suburb of Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, was named the world's 14th-best eco-friendly city to live in by the Global Destination Sustainability Index. Shown above is Ilsan Lake Park in the city. (iclickart) *[Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of the above photo is strictly prohibited under copyright laws and regulations.]

By Lee Jihae

The northern Seoul suburb of Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, has been named Asia's top eco-friendly city to live in for the second year in a row.

The BBC on April 2 reported that Goyang ranked 14th among the world's top 100 sustainable cities in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-I) produced by the International Congress and Convention Association.

Goyang finished the highest among non-European cities in the index, repeating its feat last year when it came in 18th overall.

Singapore at 17th was No. 2 in the Asia-Pacific region this year.

The top five cities in the latest GDS-I were all in Northern Europe (in order): Gothenburg, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; and Bergen, Norway.

The GDS-I ranks global cities based on their sustainability performance in the tourism and event sectors. The rankings are based on 69 indicators such as air pollution, recycling rate, number of bicycle paths and percentage of eco-friendly hotel rooms.

Goyang has "been climbing up the GDS-I rankings ever since" it became the first Korean city to join the index in 2017, the BBC said. The city has a convention and exhibition center that "recycles rainwater for the bathrooms, pond and gardens" as well as 68 parks and a bike sharing system, it added.

Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, is ranked 14th on this year's list of the world's most eco-friendly cities to live in according to the Global Destination Sustainability Index. (Global Destination Sustainability Movement's official website)

jihlee08@korea.kr