Yongsan Park Master Plan Revised... Opening Delayed from '2027 to 7 Years After Return'

Partial opening site of Yongsan Park, former US military officers' quarters Complex 5 overview

The opening timeline for Yongsan Park, to be established on the former U.S. military base in Yongsan, Seoul, has been changed from the original 2027 to 7 years after the return (N years). Additionally, the utilization plans for newly incorporated sites such as the former Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) site have been finalized.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 27th that it will finalize and officially announce the "Comprehensive Basic Plan Amendment for Yongsan Park Maintenance Area" on the 28th after review by the Yongsan Park Development Promotion Committee.

The comprehensive basic plan for the Yongsan Park maintenance area, established in December 2014, provides the direction for transforming the returned Yongsan U.S. military base into a national park. Since then, due to multiple changes such as the expansion of Yongsan Park boundaries and partial return of the Yongsan base, the government has created this amendment plan reflecting those changes.

According to the amended basic plan, first, the basic concept for newly incorporated sites into the Yongsan Park development district, including the former DAPA, military apartments, and the War Memorial, has been established.

The former DAPA and military apartment sites will be developed as green spaces to ecologically connect Namsan and Yongsan Park. However, buildings with historical and cultural value within these sites will be utilized for cultural and artistic programs in connection with the surrounding areas.

The War Memorial, Yongsan Family Park, and National Museum of Korea sites will maintain their existing facilities even after the park is developed, and the boundaries will be planned to allow easy access to Yongsan Park through these sites.

For the War Memorial, part of the adjacent Yongsan Park site will be developed as an outdoor exhibition space to enhance the park's usability, and Yongsan Family Park will strengthen the park's ecological characteristics through ecological remodeling.

Along with this, based on the seven proposals announced by the National Participation Group in July, a smart park and public participation plan have been newly established, and the park facility plan has been supplemented.

A participation platform will be built to collect public opinions at every stage from park development to operation. To make Yongsan Park an important resource for achieving national carbon neutrality, carbon absorption rates will be considered when creating green spaces, and buildings within the park will be remodeled as zero-energy buildings, presenting measures for carbon absorption and reduction.

The existing plan assumed the complete return of the entire base by 2016 and established a phased plan for park completion and opening in 2027, but considering that the base return schedule is determined through Korea-U.S. consultations, the return timing is set as 'N years' and the opening is planned for 'N+7 years.'

Until the site is returned, efforts will be made for partial returns and opening of returned sites, and preliminary preparations such as planning for park development will be conducted. After the return, remediation work will be carried out on contaminated sites, while plans and designs established so far will be supplemented, and construction will begin first on sites that do not require contamination cleanup (such as the former DAPA and military apartment sites).

After preparations for construction are completed, construction will prioritize areas with high accessibility for early opening, and after opening, the park and surrounding areas will be connected.

Kim Bok-hwan, head of the Yongsan Park Development Promotion Planning Team at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Based on the amended comprehensive basic plan for the Yongsan Park maintenance area, we will steadily promote the park development project to create Yongsan Park as a national leisure and relaxation space where nature, culture, history, and the future harmoniously coexist."

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