[One Day Walk] A Stroll Around Yongsan Returning to the Citizens... Seobinggo Station

Editor's NoteThe subway is a mode of transportation that anyone can easily access and travel safely, and it is also an important part of daily walking. We introduce pleasant walking spots around subway stations.

The starting point of today's course is Seobinggo Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. It was named after Seobinggo, an ice storage and management facility from the Joseon Dynasty located nearby. Along with Dongbinggo in the current Dongbinggo-dong and Naebinggo inside the royal palace, Seobinggo was responsible for supplying ice during the Joseon era. Among these, Seobinggo is known to be the largest and is considered the most famous binggo. In winter, when the Han River froze, ice was cut from the river and moved to the binggo, where it was managed throughout spring, summer, and fall, and taken out as needed.

The area around Seobinggo Station is also a green space-dense urban area, featuring the National Museum of Korea, Yongsan Family Park, and Yongsan Park (Officer's Quarters Complex 5). Yongsan Garrison was a site occupied by Qing Dynasty and Japanese forces whenever they gained dominance on the Korean Peninsula before the Japanese colonial period, and during the colonial era, it housed the Japanese Military Headquarters in Korea. After liberation, the U.S. military stationed there, occupying the entire approximately 2.03 million square meters as a base. However, since the relocation project began in 2013, major facilities such as the United Nations Command and United States Forces Korea Command have moved to Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, and now efforts are underway to return the area to the citizens under the name Yongsan Park.

View of Officer Housing Complex 5 within the Yongsan Park site in Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

The first place to visit is the Officer's Quarters Complex 5 within Yongsan Park. This was formerly used as housing for U.S. military officers. After the U.S. military stationed in Yongsan following liberation, they utilized the proximity to Seobinggo Station to build a railway inside the base for use as a military supply warehouse. However, after being returned by the U.S. military in 1986, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH, formerly Korea Housing Corporation) constructed 16 residential buildings (129 households) and 2 management buildings, totaling 18 buildings, on approximately 50,000 square meters of land as rental housing for U.S. military officers, which were leased until 2020.

During the process of selecting which facilities within the base would be demolished or preserved, this site was chosen for preservation. It has since been remodeled into exhibition spaces, an open house, and an archive, and has been gradually opened to the public since August 2020. Admission is free, and it is open every Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Citizens visiting Yongsan Family Park in Seoul are enjoying a walk. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The next destination is Yongsan Family Park. This area was also part of Yongsan Garrison and was used as the U.S. 8th Army golf course from 1959 until the early 1990s, when it was returned first and then acquired by Seoul City in 1992 to be developed into a park. Covering a total area of 75,900 square meters, it features a grassy plaza, ponds, and various landscaping facilities. Visitors can enjoy leisure time lying on a mat on the grass or sitting on benches while gazing at the greenery.

National Museum of Korea

The National Museum of Korea is also located on land returned from Yongsan Garrison. One year after Yongsan Family Park opened, in 1993, the decision was made to dismantle the former Government-General Building of Korea, which created the need for a new site for the National Museum of Korea. Consequently, the existing Yongsan Family Park area was significantly reduced to build the museum, which opened at its current location in 2005. Except for regular closed days, it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. All exhibitions are free except for special paid exhibitions. The 'Room of Contemplation,' created to separately display two national treasures, the Bangasayusang statues, is especially popular.

The sky viewed from Ichon Hangang Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is clear. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The final destination today is Ichon Hangang Park. Along the riverside, reeds, silver grass, and cosmos bloom seasonally, making it a favorite spot for citizens to walk and jog. The park also offers various sports facilities, including a large inline roller skating rink, soccer fields, basketball courts, badminton courts, jokgu courts, futsal fields, tennis courts, and gateball courts.

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