A 60-Story Landmark at Seoul Innovation Park... Creating a COEX-Level Converged City

City-Owned Largest Available Land... Basic Plan to Be Finalized Within the Year
Large-Scale Plaza in the Center, Large-Scale Mixed-Use Shopping Mall Along the Street
University-Industry Campus at City University... Future-Oriented Multi-Generational Residential Included

A bird's-eye view of Seoul Innovation Park in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Seoul Innovation Park in Nokbeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, the largest available site owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government but has been used in a closed manner for 10 years, will be developed into a complex city combining "Jik-Ju-Rak" (Jobs, Housing, Commerce). A 60-story landmark will be built in the center of the site, and a large-scale complex shopping mall will be created along the street. A future-oriented residential plan that allows coexistence of campus and households has also been designed.

On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a site utilization plan for Seoul Innovation Park in this direction by 2030. The city stated, "We will create jobs and enable various consumption activities to build a self-sustaining economic base city," adding, "It will be reborn as a new economic and cultural center driving the development of the northwest area."

Seoul Innovation Park is considered a prime piece of land equivalent to the size of 15 soccer fields, located right next to Bulgwang Station on Subway Line 3. Originally, it was the site of the National Institute of Health, but after the institute relocated, the city purchased the site in 2009 to supply necessary facilities in the northwest area. However, contrary to the original purpose, it has been used at low density for the past 10 years and has not fulfilled its potential as a hub.

According to the city's plan, a facility approximately 50,000 square meters in size, comparable to COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu (46,000 square meters), will be established on the Seoul Innovation Park site. A large green factory and a 60-story landmark building will be built in the center of the site. Along the street, a large-scale complex cultural shopping mall larger than "The Hyundai Seoul" in Yeouido will be created.

The Seoul UIC Campus, a university-industry cooperation campus of the University of Seoul specializing in graduate schools for nurturing talent in advanced industries such as semiconductors and startup support facilities, will be established. In connection with DMC and Magok, a specialized office space comparable in scale to the Seoul Finance Center (SFC) will also be created to generate high-quality jobs.

Additionally, a public housing complex called "Gold Village," which encompasses various family types such as single-person youth households, newlyweds, and elderly households, will be developed along with a total of 800 residential units. Gold Village is designed so that elderly residents, who have difficulty expanding their activity radius, can access living services such as hospitals nearby, and can live separately yet together by frequently interacting with their children living close by.

All facilities within the site will be integrally connected in three dimensions?above ground, underground, and aerially. An underground transportation system will be established for vehicles, and a green pedestrian-friendly space will be created above ground. An underground passage directly connecting Bulgwang Station and the site will also be constructed.

A bird's-eye view of Seoul Innovation Park in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Seoul City)

To realize this, the city plans to apply the concept of "Beyond Zoning" to the Seoul Innovation Park site. This is a new urban planning system that does not divide land use into residential, commercial, parks, or green spaces. It grants autonomy to freely decide what uses to include, allowing for complex functional arrangements. The city will use this to enlarge the spatial scope from parcel units to "super blocks" and simultaneously construct various facilities for rapid development.

The development will involve the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), and facilities requiring planning and operational expertise will be promoted through a public-private partnership development project involving private sector participation. The basic plan will be finalized within the year, construction will begin in the second half of 2025, and completion is targeted for 2030.

Hong Seon-gi, Director of Future Space Planning at Seoul City, said, "As the social and economic conditions in the northwest area rapidly change and the region's status rises, this development will be a turning point for the northwest area to transform from a bedroom community into a small city within Seoul with a self-sustaining economic base."

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