[Seoul's Future] Kang Byung-geun "The Future of the Hangang River Depends on Restoring Our Bond with Water"

Seoul City Chief Architect to Lecture at Asia Economy Forum on the 29th

"The future of the Han River depends on restoring the bond with water and the waterfront. By restoring the waterways and connecting them with forest paths to form the axis of the entire city, Seoul will establish itself as a world-class waterfront city unlike any other."

Kang Byung-geun, Seoul City Chief Architect, is attending the '2023 Seoul Future Forum: The Future of the Han River' held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 29th, giving a lecture on the theme of the future value of the Han River.

Kang Byung-geun, Chief Architect of Seoul City, emphasized this on the 29th at the Seoul Future Forum hosted by Asia Economy at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme "The Future of the Han River." Chief Architect Kang delivered a lecture titled "The Future Value of the Han River."

"Despite boasting vast rivers and forests, the bond with water is weaker compared to Europe"

Chief Architect Kang pointed out, "The Han River is a blessed resource surrounded by countless high and low mountains, but it seems we use it at one of the lowest levels in the world."

In fact, Seoul boasts a vast river area compared to major cities in Europe and Asia. Seoul's river area is 72.4㎢, accounting for 12% of the total urban area of 605㎢. This is a very high figure compared to Berlin, Germany (5.9%), London, UK (2.2%), Paris, France (1.6%), Tokyo, Japan (5.6%), and Beijing, China (1.1%). The forest area, which is the source of the rivers, is also 154.9㎢, accounting for 25.6% of the city. Chief Architect Kang evaluated, "In terms of water volume and length, it is overwhelmingly unmatched anywhere in the world."

Kang Byung-geun, Chief Architect of Seoul, attended the "2023 Seoul Future Forum: The Future of the Han River" held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 29th, delivering a lecture on the future value of the Han River. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

However, compared to Europe, where there is a strong bond with water and active creation of waterfront environments, Seoul is rather distant from water. According to Chief Architect Kang, overseas rivers are used as everyday living spaces such as waterfront landscapes, leisure, rest, and shelters, as well as natural ecology, logistics transport routes, port facilities, urban transportation means, and cultural and artistic bases, serving as diverse and active economic and tourism resources. In contrast, Seoul's situation is different. He said, "The only cultural and artistic facilities are Sebitseom in Jamwon Hangang Park, Jabeolle in Ttukseom Hangang Park, and Mulbit Stage in Yeouido Hangang Park," adding, "Except for sports facilities unrelated to water, there is nothing particularly used."

Chief Architect Kang cited various nuisance facilities concentrated around the Han River, such as the Tancheon Resource Recovery Facility and Jungnang Water Reuse Center, deteriorated accessibility due to arterial roads, straightening of rivers for housing supply, and tangled management regulations among related government departments as reasons why Seoul citizens have become distant from water.

He also expressed the opinion that the abundance of water has ironically become a poison for forming a bond. He said, "Because there is so much water, it is treated too carelessly, and since water can be seen nearby everywhere, it seems people tend to push water away."

On the 29th, at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, participants including Jo Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party, and Shin Beom-su, editor-in-chief, attended the "2023 Seoul Future Forum: The Future of the Han River" hosted by Asia Economy. They are listening intently to a lecture by Kang Byung-geun, Seoul's chief architect. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

"For Seoul 100 years from now, the urban spatial structure must be changed centered on the Han River"

Chief Architect Kang proposed that we should contemplate what kind of city Seoul should become 100 years from now, centered on the Han River. He suggested changing the urban spatial structure itself to be centered on water. This is the core content that Seoul City, including Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Chief Architect Kang, intends to include in the 100-year master plan.

As the first measure for this, Chief Architect Kang proposed utilizing the Han River floodplain and both banks' roads as urban spaces. He said, "If we actively utilize about 9㎢ of the upper area for flood level control as a three-dimensional urban space, future Seoul can develop into a world-class city of emotional design."

If the first measure is to expand the city toward the Han River, the second measure is to widen the waterfront in the urban spaces facing the Han River. Chief Architect Kang said, "If we convert the 180,000㎢ of waterfront area, including the Han River floodplain, into public urban space, we can make Seoul a waterfront city capital," adding, "We want to create reasons for everyone to come by utilizing the Han River as a resource to move logistics and operate river cruisers." To this end, he proposed utilizing waterfront national and public lands such as idle lands in Mok-dong and Nanji-do. He emphasized, "It works on the Danube and Rhine Rivers, so there is no reason it can't work on the Han River."

Finally, Chief Architect Kang also proposed transforming Seoul into a water city. He said, "If various waterfront cities are built, from natural ecological islands like Bamseom to cultural and artistic islands like Nodeul Island, future Seoul can become a beautiful emotional central city unlike anything anyone has experienced before."

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