Seoul City to Create Gateway Connecting Yongsan Station and Yongsan Park

March Service Launch for Three-Dimensional Space Utilization
Ensuring Continuity of Pedestrian and Green Spaces Connected to Hangang
Expansion of Cultural, Transportation, and Other Multifunctional Features

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting the creation of the ‘Yongsan Gateway’ to utilize the park area connecting Yongsan Station and Yongsan Park in a three-dimensional way and to strengthen connections with key hubs. The goal is to link pedestrian paths and green spaces by connecting the park area with surrounding regions and to create a complex cultural space, transforming the Yongsan Station area into a new central space.

On the 22nd, Seoul announced a bid for the ‘Basic Plan for Yongsan Gateway Creation’ project and will begin planning from March. The plan aims to complete a pedestrian and green axis connecting Yongsan Park, Yongsan Station, Yongsan International Business District, and the Han River, and to enhance the symbolism of the junction with the ‘National Symbolic Boulevard’ connecting Gwanghwamun, Seoul Station, Yongsan, and the Han River, thereby spreading synergy.

The Yongsan area is a place where the status and role as a political, economic, and cultural center are being strengthened, with growing public expectations due to the relocation of the Presidential Office, the return of the Yongsan Base, acceleration of Yongsan Park creation, and the full-scale development of the Yongsan International Business District.

Considering these changing conditions, the city plans to develop the park area into an integrated hub connected to public transportation and surrounding areas. Through the creation of the Yongsan Gateway, key hubs such as Yongsan Park and the Yongsan International Business District will be linked, and a pedestrian and green system will be established to connect spaces severed by roads like Hangang-daero in a three-dimensional manner (above and underground). Additionally, the plan includes expanding complex cultural functions by utilizing the underground space in front of Yongsan Station’s park area and preparing a proactive plan for multifunctional space use considering future transportation plans such as the public transportation system and the Shinbundang Line.

Seoul has been striving to utilize the area in a three-dimensional way since 2008 but has not realized it. To increase the feasibility of this project, the city plans to collaborate with related organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Yongsan-gu to prepare concrete implementation plans.

Hong Seon-gi, Director of Future Space Planning at Seoul City, said, “The Yongsan Gateway will become a core political, economic, and cultural space connecting major areas such as the International Business District and Yongsan Park. We expect that the creation of pedestrian and green axes and three-dimensional spatial utilization will maximize the efficiency of urban space and facilitate the linkage and expansion of urban functions.”

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