[Report] Taereung Golf Course, "Advantage of Existing Infrastructure" vs "Commuting Hell Without Additional Traffic Measures"

Visited Taereung Golf Course, a Government Housing Supply Review Site

Including the Military Academy Site, Total Area is 1.5 Million㎡
More Than Half the Size of Yeouido

Close to Large-Scale Guri Galmae District
Adjacent to Bonghwasan Station and Galmae Station
If GTX Reaches Byeollae Station,
It Takes Only 15 Minutes to Seoul Station

Road Traffic Network is Insufficient Compared to Subway
Frequent Congestion on Gyeongchunbuk-ro and Northern Arterial Road
Traffic Problems Will Worsen with 30,000 New Households
"Prepare for Up to 1.5 Hours of Congestion During Severe Traffic"

As the government actively moves to expand housing supply following the July 10 real estate measures, it is discussing plans to build housing on the Taereung Golf Course site owned by the Ministry of National Defense. The photo shows the Taereung Golf Course in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and the nearby Galmae district in Guri-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghyun Choi, Onyu Lim in Guri, Chunhee Lee] "The advantage is that you can use the infrastructure of the surrounding housing development districts." (Representative of A Real Estate Agency in Byeollae District, Namyangju)

"The roads around are already saturated due to large-scale housing developments, and if another large-scale supply is made in Taereung, it will become a traffic nightmare." (Official from B Real Estate Agency in Galmae District, Guri)

On the morning of the 21st, the reporter visited Taereung Golf Course, located at the edge of Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. It has emerged as a key government supply plan after President Moon Jae-in proposed utilizing the military-owned Taereung Golf Course site. Opened in 1966 and currently operated as a military-exclusive golf course, Taereung Golf Course is the only golf course located within Seoul. It covers approximately 830,000㎡, and including the Army Academy site (667,000㎡), the total area reaches 1.5 million㎡. This is more than half the size of Yeouido (2.9 million㎡). Projections suggest that the land could accommodate a minimum of 10,000 housing units and up to 30,000 units.

Real estate agencies in the area visited that day were busy, closely monitoring the potential impact on the local market. The representative of N Real Estate Agency in Galmae-dong, Guri, said, "You can use the infrastructure of the already developed Guri Galmae District, such as the outlet." The Guri Galmae District, where large apartment complexes like Galmae Y City and Galmae Station I-Park are located, was close enough to be seen at a glance from within Taereung Golf Course.

Apartment prices in the surrounding area have recently shown a sharp rise. On the 13th, an 84㎡ (exclusive area) unit in Galmae Station I-Park was traded at 770 million KRW. Since surpassing 600 million KRW for the first time in September last year, prices have been climbing steeply. The 84㎡ units in Galmae Y City also rose from 507 million KRW in June last year to 650 million KRW within a year.

Nearby Transportation Network is Established... But Urban Accessibility Remains Uncertain

The surface-level transportation infrastructure is relatively well established. Seoul Subway Line 6’s Bonghwasan Station and the Gyeongchun Line’s Galmae Station are adjacent. The metropolitan area express railway (GTX) Line B is planned to be introduced at nearby Byeollae Station. Once GTX-B opens, it will take only 15 minutes from Byeollae Station to Seoul Station, making access to Seoul’s central business districts such as Gwanghwamun, City Hall, and Jongno via subway quite convenient.

However, on-site concerns were raised that if up to 30,000 housing units are built in this area, which has already undergone large-scale housing developments, it could become a traffic nightmare without additional new transportation measures. An official from G Real Estate Agency in Galmae-dong said, "This scale is even larger than the 3rd New Town Wang-suk 2 District (13,000 units) or Dasan New Town Jigeum District (13,700 units), and without transportation measures, the already congested commuting traffic will worsen."

In fact, when the reporter traveled from Seoul City Hall to Taereung Golf Course, the fastest public transportation involved two transfers, using Line 1, Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and Gyeongchun Line, taking at least 1 hour and 20 minutes. For the Gangnam area, however, accessibility by subway is relatively good, as it takes about 30 minutes using Line 7 from nearby Taereungipgu Station.

The road traffic situation is even worse. To enter Seoul’s city center from Guri Galmae District and nearby Byeollae and Dasan Districts, drivers must use Gyeongchunbuk-ro, Hwarang-ro, Northern Arterial Road, and Eastern Arterial Road. These sections are notorious for habitual congestion among vehicle users. A resident of Galmae District, Mr. Kim, said, "In severe congestion, commuting to and from the city center can take up to 1 hour and 30 minutes."

An official from B Real Estate Agency nearby said, "Although Galmae Station is close to Taereung Golf Course, the bus interval is 25 minutes, so many office workers heading to central Seoul take the bus to Sinnae Station on Line 6," adding, "If apartments are built without clear measures like GTX, residents’ inconvenience will increase."

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