Seoul Doksan Water Reservoir Upper Area and Ogeum Water Reservoir Transformed into Citizen Parks

Expansion of Rest Areas and Exercise Facilities Above Doksan Reservoir in Geumcheon-gu Gwanaksan Neighborhood Park... Parking Lot Expanded from 12 to 26 Spaces, Improving Aging Park Environment
Ogum Reservoir in Songpa-gu Ogum Park, Previously Restricted to Citizens, Opens After 33 Years... Transformed into a Citizen's Park

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 6th, Seoul City announced that it has redeveloped the upper part of Doksan Reservoir in Gwanaksan Neighborhood Park and newly created Ogeum Reservoir in Ogeum Park as parks that citizens can freely use.

The reservoirs, which serve as "Seoul's tap water storage tanks," were security facilities with strictly restricted access to the public. However, through the idea of utilizing the reservoirs in a three-dimensional way, the city has expanded the insufficient leisure spaces for citizens. Seoul City plans to continuously create parks or sports facilities on top of reservoirs depending on their size.

So far, Seoul City has developed the upper parts of 46 out of 103 reservoirs into parks and community sports facility spaces. This year, it is providing green welfare to citizens by redeveloping the aging upper park of Doksan Reservoir in Geumcheon-gu and creating and opening the upper park of Ogeum Reservoir in Songpa-gu. The upper park of Doksan Reservoir in Geumcheon-gu was established in 1982 and had been a beloved space for residents for many years, but citizens experienced inconvenience due to aging park facilities.

To resolve citizens' inconveniences, Seoul City invested a total of 1 billion KRW to reorganize the area around Geumcheonjeong, which offers a panoramic view of Geumcheon-gu, by installing an observation deck, rest areas, and exercise facilities. In addition, the tennis court parking lot, which caused significant inconvenience to visitors due to insufficient parking spaces, was expanded to improve convenience for park users.

Furthermore, the Ogeum Park reservoir in Songpa-gu was opened to the public as a park for the first time in 33 years. Since the opening of Ogeum Park in 1990, the reservoir had been surrounded by wire fences and access was restricted. Transforming the reservoir into a park as a new green leisure space for citizens makes this development even more meaningful.

The upper park of Ogeum Park reservoir was created over three years from 2019 with a project cost of 3.3 billion KRW, covering an area of 10,000 square meters. After close consultations among Seoul City, the Waterworks Headquarters, and Songpa-gu, the decision was made to open the reservoir to the public. A park design plan was prepared through structural safety inspections and design competitions for the reservoir, followed by three resident briefings to gather opinions and reviews by the Seoul City Urban Park Committee, finalizing the development plan. Construction was carried out from August 2021 to August 2022, completing the park.

Going forward, Seoul City plans to actively utilize the upper parts of reservoirs and other idle spaces as parks to expand green leisure spaces for citizens. Yoo Young-bong, Director of Seoul City's Green City Bureau, said, "As citizens' interest in leisure and healing increases, Seoul City is doing its best to expand green leisure spaces by utilizing various locations, and we hope that Seoul's parks become spaces where citizens can enjoy rest and happiness in their lives."

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