Gwanghwamun Square 'East Road' Expansion and Renovation Completed... Two-Way Traffic from 0:00 on the 6th Next Month

Seoul City to Complete Expansion and Renovation of 7-9 Lanes in Front of Kyobo Building at Gwanghwamun Plaza Early Next Month
Road in Front of Sejong Center Transformed into Plaza... Completion of Urban Pedestrian Axis Linked to 'Sejong-daero Saramsup-gil'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Starting at midnight on the 6th of next month, the ‘east side’ road of Sejong-daero Gwanghwamun Square (in front of Kyobo Building and the U.S. Embassy in Korea) will change from a one-way street to a two-way street.

On the 22nd, Seoul City announced that it will complete the expansion and maintenance work by early March to convert the ‘east side’ road of Gwanghwamun Square (previously 5 lanes) into 7 to 9 lanes (7 lanes for driving) allowing two-way traffic, and will implement two-way traffic starting from the 6th of next month.

Since November last year, Seoul City has been promoting the creation of a ‘Gwanghwamun Square where people can rest and walk comfortably,’ reflecting deep and broad communication with citizens, and is carrying out this project step-by-step and sequentially to minimize citizen inconvenience.

Simultaneously with the start of two-way traffic on the east side road of Gwanghwamun Square, vehicle traffic on the west side road in front of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, which currently carries southbound traffic (from Gwanghwamun Samgeori to Sejong-daero Intersection), will be restricted to transform the space into a park-like square enjoyed by citizens in their daily lives.

The west side road will be incorporated into the square by November this year and converted into a pedestrian path, completing a 2.6 km urban walking axis connecting Gwanghwamun to Seoul Station in conjunction with the ‘Sejong-daero People’s Forest Path.’ The city plans to start with a detailed excavation survey of buried cultural assets in the square where the west side road will be incorporated, followed by pavement maintenance, tree planting, and remodeling of Haechi Yard.

Seoul City and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will continue to implement traffic measures to maintain the current traffic speed and reduce citizen inconvenience. They plan to optimize signals at 13 intersections on six major roads entering the city center, including Jahamun-ro and Seosomun-ro, and 65 intersections affected by the construction to minimize traffic congestion.

Additionally, by the end of February, new routes allowing detours to surrounding roads will open at Sajik-ro and Yulgok-ro, which intersect with Sejong-daero. At Sajik Park Intersection (Sajik-ro), left turns will be possible in both directions on Sajik-ro and Sajik-ro 8-gil, and at Gyeongbokgung Intersection (Yulgok-ro, Dongsipjagak Intersection), left turns will allow direct access to Jongno 1-gil behind the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.

The city plans to complete the restoration of the Gwanghwamun Woldae at Gyeongbokgung and the creation of a new Gwanghwamun Square by 2023, in consultation with the Cultural Heritage Administration within the scope that does not interfere with traffic flow.

Ryu Hoon, Director of Urban Regeneration at Seoul City, said, “As the first step in creating a new Gwanghwamun Square, which Seoul City has prepared through over 300 communications with citizens over the past four years, we have completed the expansion and maintenance of the east side road of the square, and two-way traffic will begin on the 6th of next month. Seoul City will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to maintain traffic speed and minimize citizen inconvenience.” He added, “The west side road of the square will also be transformed into a wider, more convenient pedestrian path and a park-like square by November, returning it to the citizens.”

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