PJ Hotel and Sampung Sangga Transformed into Urban Parks... Musical Theater Venue Underground

Seoul City Approves Revised Urban Redevelopment Plan
Commercial Site Acquired with Seoul City Funds for Park Development
1,500-Seat Musical Theater Planned Underground
Integrated Development Zone with Commercial Area, Incentives Provided

Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel, located between Euljiro 3-ga Station on Line 2 and Euljiro 4-ga Station on Lines 2 and 5, will be reborn as a park. An underground musical theater will be constructed on the Sampung Shopping Center site.

Bird's-eye view of Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District (Source: Seoul City)

On the 20th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had approved a revised version of the 'Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District Redevelopment Promotion Plan Amendment (Draft)' for the area around 174-4, Jongno 3-ga-dong, Jongno-gu, at the first Urban Redevelopment Committee meeting held the previous day.

The Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District was designated as a zone in 2006, and in 2009, a plan was established to develop the Sewoon Shopping Center area as an integrated project. In 2014, the plan shifted focus to regeneration and preservation, but redevelopment efforts stalled. Last October, Seoul prepared a plan to convert the aging shopping centers into parks by amending the redevelopment promotion plan.

A 11,000㎡ urban park will be created around Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel. An underground musical theater with a seating capacity of 1,500 will be built. The city first finalized the plan to acquire the Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel sites and establish them as urban planning facilities, i.e., parks.

A Seoul city official explained, "Although PJ Hotel was designated as an urban planning facility under the promotion plan, during the public inspection and hearing, opinions were expressed about wanting to continue hotel operations, so we are considering an integrated development plan with Zone 6-1-3."

Location map of Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion District (Source: Seoul City)

The city plans to gradually convert the remaining shopping centers, including Sewoon Shopping Center and Daerim Shopping Center, into parks through integrated development with nearby redevelopment zones or by combining donated land and shopping centers. This is because it is difficult to forcibly acquire properties due to the large number of owners in Sewoon Shopping Center, Daerim Shopping Center, Jinyang Shopping Center, and Inhyeon Shopping Center.

To promote facility projects on the Sampung Shopping Center and PJ Hotel sites, the city will proceed with related administrative procedures such as feasibility studies. Upon completion of the redevelopment projects under the Sewoon Redevelopment Promotion Plan, 136,000㎡ of green space will be secured within the Sewoon district, transforming it into a space where business, residence, and culture harmoniously coexist.

Currently, active movements are underway to promote redevelopment projects within the Sewoon district, and the city intends to actively support the swift progress of these projects.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "For redevelopment zones integrated with shopping center complexes, we plan to provide various supports, including incentives such as zoning upgrades and, if necessary, the public sector directly establishing redevelopment plans."

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