Old Seoul Station - Seoul-ro 7017 Elevated Pedestrian Walkway Opens

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] An aerial walkway 6 meters wide and 33 meters long, connecting the rooftop of the old Seoul Station building and Seoul-ro 7017, is scheduled to be completed and opened to the public this October. The rooftop of the old Seoul Station building will be reborn as a grassy 'rooftop' space.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 8th that it will complete the 'Seoul Station Publicness Enhancement Project,' jointly promoted with Korea Rail Network Authority and Hanwha Station as part of the urban regeneration project around Seoul Station. Once the construction is finished, people will be able to walk from Seoul-ro 7017 to the old Seoul Station rooftop and then to the Seoul Station concourse via the aerial walkway.

The newly opened aerial walkway will have embedded heating wires in the floor to prevent slipping on snow during winter and will also be equipped with nighttime lighting. The construction is currently in its final stages and is expected to be completed as early as this month. Instead of a concrete floor, the rooftop of the old Seoul Station will be covered with grass and planted with various wildflowers throughout, creating a green space all year round. Seating walls and benches for sitting, as well as a rose tunnel, will also be installed. The creation of this resting area is being jointly promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jung-gu District.

Hanwha Station, the operator, plans to improve the exterior of the existing aging building and enhance guidance facilities for citizens.

An aerial garden will be created around the closed parking ramp, which has been abandoned for over 20 years between the rooftop and Seoul-ro. A lattice-patterned square structure will be erected on top of the closed ramp, and aerial flower pots will be hung between the walls of the structure to give visitors the feeling of walking inside a garden.

Ryu Hun, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Regeneration Office, said, "Seoul Station is a representative railway station of South Korea and the gateway to Seoul, but it has been isolated like an island in the city center, causing poor connectivity with the surrounding areas. Through this project, we expect to strengthen the publicness of Seoul Station by connecting it to Seoul-ro 7017 via pedestrian paths and enhancing rest areas."

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