Songpa-gu Bangi-dong Sports Ground Site Makes All-Out Effort to Attract Korea National University of Arts

Negotiations with Seoul City underway over development restriction zone lift... 86% of students at Korea National University of Arts want relocation to Songpa

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seongsoo Park) is putting all its efforts into attracting the relocation of the Korea National University of Arts (Korea National University of Arts, K-Arts), which has recently gained momentum.

K-Arts opened in June 1990 as a four-year special national university under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It has three campuses located in Seokgwan-dong, Seongbuk-gu; Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu; and Waryong-dong, Jongno-gu, with facilities such as the College of Music, College of Drama, College of Film, and College of Dance, enrolling over 3,000 students. In June 2009, 'Uireung,' one of the Joseon royal tombs located on the Seokgwan-dong campus site, was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. As a result, the Cultural Heritage Administration began demolishing surrounding facilities, prompting preparations for campus relocation.

The previously stagnant relocation of K-Arts was formalized when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a research project for the relocation site in June this year.

Accordingly, the district has made attracting K-Arts, which it has been preparing for several years, its top priority this year and is concentrating all administrative capabilities on it.

The proposed relocation site promoted by the district is the ‘Bangi-dong Sports Ground site (around Bangi-dong 445-11).’

This area possesses all three strengths of Songpa: ▲diverse cultural infrastructure ▲excellent transportation accessibility ▲environmentally friendly location conditions, and it is expected that relocating here will create a synergistic effect with K-Arts.

First, the district cites as its greatest strength the presence of various cultural and artistic infrastructures scattered around, including the Korea National Sport University, Olympic Park, art museums, museums, and concert halls.

Additionally, with the Seoul International Exchange Complex District being promoted around Jamsil, adjacent to Bangi-dong, the potential to more broadly utilize the region’s abundant cultural and artistic resources will increase once cultural clusters, exhibition and convention centers, and performance halls are completed.

Songpa’s strength also lies in its excellent transportation network connecting Seoul and the rest of the country. It is easily accessible via subway lines 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9 within the district, as well as the SRT (Suseo Station) and Dong Seoul Express Bus Terminal.

In particular, the ‘Bangi-dong Sports Ground site,’ the proposed relocation site, is adjacent to ecological wetlands and an ecological learning center. This area requires consideration of both regional development in line with contemporary trends and preservation of natural features.

Moreover, as of July 1, the sports ground site will lose its status as a long-term unexecuted facility under the city management plan, prompting Seoul City to consider management measures.

Therefore, the district judged that attracting a school to this site would be the most optimal way to preserve its natural features. It is actively negotiating with Seoul City regarding the lifting of development restrictions specifically for the Bangi-dong Sports Ground site.

Furthermore, immediately after the campus relocation plan was announced in 2017, the district formed a dedicated team for attraction and established a promotion committee consisting of residents, experts, council members, and officials, collecting signatures from about 60,000 nearby residents. Since then, it has made multifaceted efforts to attract K-Arts, including signing agreements with the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, Lotte Shopping Cinema Business Headquarters, and Lotte Cultural Foundation to support cultural and artistic infrastructure.

Seongsoo Park, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “In a 2017 survey conducted among enrolled students at K-Arts, 87.6% wanted Songpa-gu as the relocation site. We will continuously consult with Seoul City and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to actively promote Songpa-gu as the optimal location. We will definitely attract K-Arts, which both local residents and students desire, and nurture it as a cradle leading Korea’s culture and arts.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.