[Seoul, Now] From the Hangang Bus and DDP to Jongmyo and the "Present Arms" Monument

Minjin Kim, Head of the Local Government Team, Social Affairs Department. Provided by The Asia Business Daily.

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There is a consistent pattern in Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon's development policies. Grand narratives emerge, projects are pushed forward without sufficient discussion, and controversies intensify. In the process, social conflicts are amplified. Another characteristic is that budgets balloon far beyond initial projections. Looking at the controversies surrounding the Hangang Bus, the Sewoon Green Axis, and the Garden of Gratitude, this pattern has remained unchanged for nearly 20 years.

On September 18 of this year, the Hangang Bus began operations. The stated purpose was to provide "commuter water public transportation." The reality was different. On the very first day, there was a restroom malfunction; after only three days, operations were suspended. Following a month of trial runs with no passengers, the service resumed, only for another incident to occur when a boat ran aground on the riverbed. It took 2 hours and 7 minutes to travel from Magok to Jamsil. The Hangang Bus, which was supposed to be a commuting option, became a "sightseeing cruise" more than three times slower than the subway. The initial project budget of 54.2 billion won quickly swelled to 175 billion won, more than tripling. There was a lack of sufficient discussion with citizens, and concerns from experts were not adequately reviewed.

In 2006, during his first term, Mayor Oh declared the "Hangang Renaissance." It was an ambitious plan to transform the Han River into a world-class waterfront space. The project, which was abandoned following his mid-term resignation in 2011, has returned as the "Great Han River Project" and the Hangang Bus.

During the same period, Mayor Oh planned the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) as the centerpiece of the "Design Seoul" project. The grand narrative was to create a "world-class tourist destination harmonizing history and design." The process was far from smooth. The 82-year-old Dongdaemun Stadium and the Joseon Dynasty Hanyang City Wall had to be demolished. The sports community opposed the loss of the historic stadium, while the cultural sector criticized the destruction of historical value.

Mayor Oh asks, "Would Seoul have a landmark today if not for DDP?" Kim Kyungmin, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies, criticized, "If I were mayor, I would have demolished it or relocated it elsewhere." What about the budget? The project cost ballooned to 484 billion won, more than five times the original estimate.

This year, a new controversy has erupted: the redevelopment of Sewoon District 4, located across from Jongmyo, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The grand narrative of "recreating an ecological green urban center" first appeared 17 years ago. In 2008, Mayor Oh planned to demolish the Sewoon Shopping Center and create a large green axis connecting the area to Namsan. However, the project was derailed by the global financial crisis and real estate market downturn in the late 2000s, as well as Mayor Oh's mid-term resignation in 2011.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government now plans to increase the floor area ratio for Sewoon District 4 from 600% to 1,000% and allow the construction of super high-rise buildings up to 145 meters tall. The core of the "Jongmyo controversy" lies in the "recreation of an ecological green urban center." To create a 90-meter-wide green axis running through Sewoon Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 by acquiring land through public contribution, the city is incentivizing higher floor area ratios and super high-rise development. However, there has been no public discussion about whether a green axis is truly necessary here, whether it needs to be 90 meters wide, or whether this direction should take precedence over other values.

What about the "Garden of Gratitude" at Gwanghwamun Square? This project, which involves erecting 23 granite pillars, each 7 meters tall and shaped like a "present arms" salute to commemorate Korean War allied nations, is also driven solely by unilateral grand narratives such as "a symbolic space for the Korea-U.S. alliance" and "education on liberal democracy."

The capital city of Seoul, the political, economic, and cultural center of South Korea, belongs to its citizens and the nation as a whole; it is a public asset. One thing is clear: large-scale projects pushed through without sufficient discussion and without deep consideration of history and community will remain a source of endless controversy.

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