Guro and Gasan: From "Gray City" to a Green Leisure Industrial Space

Oh Sehoon Signals Start of Private Development for Southwestern Region Grand Remodeling
Visits Kyohaksa Site, First Private Project in G-Valley
Full-Scale Push to Transform Area into a Future-Oriented Economic and Lifestyle Hub

Guro and Gasan Digital Complex (G-Valley) will be transformed into a future-oriented complex hub that integrates industry, daily life, and green spaces. This is a core project of the 'Southwestern Region Grand Remodeling Plan' announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government last year. On the Kyohaksa site, a privately developed special planning zone within the G-Valley National Industrial Complex, a 24-story mixed-use facility will be constructed.

G-Valley is the nation's first "National Export Industrial Complex," which led South Korea's industrialization in the 1960s. In the 2000s, it continued its role as a high-tech industrial complex centered on IT. However, as development focused on industrial functions continued for an extended period, there was a lack of green and leisure spaces for citizens and workers to stay and relax, leading to its reputation as a "gray city." Currently, out of G-Valley's total area of 1.92 million square meters, the proportion of parks and green spaces is 0%. Instead, around 150 open spaces created during the construction of knowledge industry centers serve as substitutes for green areas.

View of Gasan Digital Complex. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

In response, in February of last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the Southwestern Region Grand Remodeling Plan, presenting a comprehensive urban innovation strategy to reorganize the region as a new economic and lifestyle hub, focusing on three pillars: industrial innovation, residential innovation, and green appeal.

Before full-scale implementation, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon visited the Kyohaksa site in G-Valley (42 Gasan Digital 1-ro, Geumcheon-gu) on the afternoon of the 11th. At this event, Mayor Oh officially launched the development of the Kyohaksa site, the first private development case reflecting the "semi-industrial zone system improvement," and announced plans to transform it into a future-oriented economic and lifestyle hub with ample green and leisure spaces.

Mayor Oh stated, "Guro and Gasan Digital Complex, the youngest industrial complexes in Seoul, are sites where the younger generation works hard and strives for their future. For young people who have lived amid competition, green spaces symbolize 'a better quality of life,'" adding, "It is time for urban planning to change in response to the demands of a new generation."

This development is significant as it marks the starting point for transforming existing semi-industrial zones, which were previously focused on regulation and management, into mixed-use spaces that integrate manufacturing, work, residential, and leisure functions. In fact, the city had systematically managed five sites-including underutilized public land and large-scale aging factory sites-by designating them as special planning zones, but actual development had faced limitations.

On the Kyohaksa site, which covers 15,021 square meters, a mixed-use facility will be built, combining residential, work, exhibition, gallery, sports facilities, a public library, and green spaces, ranging from four basement levels to 24 above-ground stories. The plan and design allocate 28% of the site as open space, exceeding the mandatory area (15% of the development site) stipulated by the industrial complex district guidelines.

In particular, to improve green spaces in G-Valley, which currently lacks any designated parks or green areas in urban planning, a "city-type street forest" will be created by expanding street trees and green belts. Underutilized open spaces will be converted into "shared gardens" centered on greenery, with the aim of reorganizing G-Valley into a representative green, ecological industrial city in the southwestern region.

Additionally, at Gasan Digital Complex Station, rest and revitalization spaces for office workers will be created, including "work and lounge spaces" and "play-type exercise areas" to support the well-being of employees. The area around Fun Station will be developed into indoor gardens and green rest areas in connection with the "Lower Forest Path Project." A Seoul city official stated, "We will make every effort to reorganize G-Valley as the leading green leisure space in the southwestern region," adding, "By realizing a new urban model that combines industrial advancement and high-quality living environments, we aim to create a space where both workers and citizens can experience an improved quality of life while working."

Street forest and shared garden Fun Station Lounge & Walk Zone to be established in G-Valley. Seoul City

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