[Seoul's Future] Professor Kim Sehun: "Yongsan Development, an Opportunity to Create the City's 'Aesthetics of Emptiness'"

Asia Economy Seoul Future Forum - Future of Yongsan Panel Discussion
"Vacated Spaces in Urban Centers Play a Role in Enhancing City Appeal"

Opinions have emerged that the large-scale development in Yongsan, including the Yongsan Maintenance Depot and former US military base sites, could actually be an opportunity to 'empty out' the city.

On the 26th, Kim Sehun, a professor at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University, stated at the "2024 Future of Seoul Forum" hosted by Asia Economy at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme "The Future of Yongsan," that "(Yongsan development) is a very good opportunity to elegantly empty out the 'urban sediment' including the external spaces of Yongsan Park and the upcoming International Business District."

Professor Kim Sehun of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University is attending and discussing at the '2024 Seoul Future Forum: The Future of Yongsan' held on the 26th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

He cited globally competitive cities as examples, noting that having 'emptied spaces' is a common feature. These include Meta and Central Park in New York, the Champs-?lys?es and Place de la Concorde in Paris, Boston Common area, and the vicinity of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. Professor Kim emphasized, "These external spaces further enhance the city's appeal and serve as memorable elements when people visit the city."

He then referred to the development patterns of 'central areas' so far. "Until now, when planning city centers, there seemed to be an inertia to overly specialize or fill something," he said. "Labeling it as specialization makes it difficult to adapt to future changes, and if the real estate market or industrial innovation paradigms shift, narrow specialization can hinder urban transformation."

Furthermore, Professor Kim posed a question about the future role of the city of Yongsan. Referring to a presentation by Kang Byung-geun, Seoul’s Chief Architect, which stated that "while dispersal was once a competitive advantage, now concentration is," he said, "We have lived by narrowing distances through cities and centers as bases, but now we have to consider how to proceed in the future."

Professor Kim added, "More than ever before, our lives have become flexible, traditional work and leisure patterns are changing, and physical spaces must compete with online platforms and SNS to be chosen and survive. Given this, I want to raise the question of whether Yongsan should still function as a center that attracts all resources, or if experiments responding to the demands of flexible living are needed."

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