New KTX vertical to Gangnam by 2015

Suseo Station has been confirmed as the terminus of the Suseo High Speed Railway (Suseo HSR), a KTX vertical line connecting Southwest Seoul with the main axis Seoul-Busan (Gyeongbu HSR) at Pyeongtaek.

Looking at this old map, covering the Northeastern quarter of the country seemed a priority, but Korail has recently improved the Gyeongchun Line (ITX connecting Chuncheon with Cheongnyangni, Seoul Station), and the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics will KTXize and extend this horizontal axis ("KTX coast to coast Incheon-Gangneung"), even if it may not reach the East Sea for budgetary reasons. Furthermore, 40% of South Koreans live in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do.

So. Again. Ultraprivileged Gangnam-Bundang areas are blessed with major transport infrastructures: Suseo Station, which already connects Line 3 with Bundang Line, will become one of the Capital's biggest hubs.

Express Bus Terminal (Lines 3, 7, 9) may have to balance between the KTX stations of Yeongdeungpo (Line 9) and Suseo, whereas north of the Han river, the Seoul Station - Cheongnyangni horizontal axis looks much more simple, with both centers directly connected via Line 1.

Suseo HSR will connect with Gyeongbu HSR at a future Pyeongtaek Junction, north of Cheonan-Asan Station, with two stations in between:
- Jije Station in Jije-dong, Pyeongtaek (Line 1)
- Dongtan Station (New Dongtan City in Hwaseong)

Let's focus more on the other two winners of the deal:

• Dongtan new town is to cover about 24,000 square meters, and to propose 40,000 dwellings to an expected population of 120,000. But today, it is not directly on the subway map: Seodongtan Station is the sole station on a branchlet of Line 1.
• Among South Korea's biggest harbors and industrial complexes Pyeongtaek will soon add the US troops leaving Yongsan, Uijeongbu, and Dongducheon to an already impressive military hub comprising two USFK facilities.

The 61 km stretch will be inaugurated in 2015. 

Seoul Village 2012
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Good cop... ee chuseyo

Don't worry. I won't restart my usual rant about the pervasiveness of coffee shops in Seoul (see "Brews and bruises"). This book cafe has something really special.

To get in, you have to leave an I.D. at a police booth, and that's totally normal since you're entering the headquarters of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA). From Gyeongbokgung Station exit 7, you can't miss this hulk of a building topped by an antenna that competes with Namsan Tower at night (picture two giant cuttlefishes exchanging colorful, LED-powered distress messages). The main entrance is on Naejadong-gil (now Sajikro-8-gil), but for the cafe, use the small one on Saemunanro-3-gil, opposite KEB / Kim & Chang.

Likewise, there are two entrances for this book cafe, the 'cafe' part being on the ground floor, and the 'book' one down a large set of stairs. The atmosphere is rather cool, and the proportion of uniforms lower on week-ends.

Now regarding the book section, this is serious stuff, far beyond the usual pseudo-cultural alibi (worn out hip magazines on stylish shelves): you're in an actual library, with rows of neatly sorted volumes. And if 99% of them are in Korean, they cover a wide scope: Korean literature, English literature, French literature (featuring Portuguese authors but we share the same Latin roots anyway)... Bonus, a whole section you won't find in any other library: "경찰" - "Police", complete with corporate news and criminal cases.

Here, anyone can borrow books, up to three per fortnight.

Unfortunately, not all police authorities display this really good cop routine nationwide. And judging by how poorly Suwon Jungbu Police Station's teams handled the abominable abduction/rape case last week, they probably were not encouraged to browse through this kind of literature...



Seogyeong Book Cafe / 서경 북카페 (cafe)
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
Sajikro-8-gil 31, Jongno-gu, Seoul, ROK


Seoul Village 2012
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Gyeonggi Business & Culture Networking Day

Following the success of Seoul Global Business Support Center networking events*, KBC (Korea Business Central) organizes with Gyeonggi Province, and the GAFIC (Gyeonggi Association of Foreign Invested Companies) the first Gyeonggi Business & Culture Networking Day.

It was only a matter of when and where for Steven S. Bammel : KBC's founder is an FDI Advisor to Gyeonggi-do and a consultant to GAFIC :
- the when ? Saturday, October 8, 2011, starting at 2 PM for the cultural experience.
- the where ? The prestigious Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site surrounding the old city of Suwon.

A very impressive venue, and a great opportunity to meet with key members of the province's thriving business ecosystem.

For all details and online registration (only KRW 10,000 for early birds !), connect to KBC's website. Also :
- Gyeonggi Province : gg.go.kr
- KBC : KoreaBusinessCentral.com
- GAFIC : gafic.or.kr

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* see "SGBSC + KBC : small business & big party", "Seoul Global Business Networking Event 2011"

Seongnam and Hanam merge

The cities of Seongnam and Hanam (both in Gyeonggi-do) announced their intention to merge by 2014 in a new city which would border Southeast Seoul from Gangdong-gu to Gangnam-gu via Songpa-gu.

In such mergers, more ambitious and harmonious policies can be developped, and the new ensemble can forge a stronger identity, be more competitive at the national and international level. But the union has to be carefully and soundly planned, and it is essential to preserve the soul of each area of the newly formed city. Spotting and reviving key cultural assets should even be considered an essential mission. So I would strongly advise planners to make a lot of research back in time before starting anything irreversible. This is clearly a promise for the future and a new start, but certainly not from scratch, from a blank page.

And I hope this won't end up in more destruction of Seoul's vital greenbelts.


A FORESEEABLE TREND

A referendum involving Seongnam and Hanam citizens shall be held, but the final decision remain in the hands of the national government... which shouldn't oppose the move : LEE Myung-bak wants to regroup 246 administrative areas into 60 to 70 municipalities, a natural trend that Japan has been experiencing for years, and that Nicolas Sarkozy is also considering for Paris' "little belt".

Among other regroupments under discussion within Gyeonggi-do : Guri with Namyangju (an obvious team just booming, just North of Seongnam-Hanam, on the other side of the Han river), and Hwaseong with Suwon (a powerful economic - cultural combo south, which could counterbalance the impressive rise of nearby Incheon).

I don't see small and unpopulated cities like Gwacheon (35.9 km2 / 74,600 inh.) or Uiwang (53 / 142,000) remain much longer on their own : a merger with Anyang (58 / 618,000) could be a solution. Gimpo seems big enough, but not so dense (276.6 km2 / 203,000), but many areas are either booming or about to (ie near Incheon's Cheongna, Ganghwa-do). Bucheon or Gwangmyeong are populated (850,000 and 341,000) but small (53.4 and 38.5 km2). For this pair, joining forces with Siheung (441,000 / 131) and why not even Ansan (Southwards) would make sense... Combinations are countless.


GWANGJU OUT OF THE LOOP... FOR THE MOMENT

Seongnam-Hanam project started as an even more ambitious project : Gwangju (the Gyeonggi-do city not to be confused with South West Korea's metro city) was initally in the loop and eventually declined to join Seongnam and Hanam, which would have created a major and relevant powerhouse :

- Today, Seongnam claims 141.8 square kilometers and 1,023,000 inhabitants (including people about to move in Pangyo New Town). Hanam 93 and 128,000. The 235 km2 and 1,13 million inhabitants ensemble will claim the "Metropolitan City" status and can even beat Suwon (121 km2, 1,087,000 inhabitants) as Gyeonggi-do's most populated city, but Gwangju would add 431 km2 and 215,000 inhabitants, forming a 3-city bigger than Seoul itself (605 km2 - but over 10 M souls).

- From a geographical point of view, Seongnam-Hanam looks a bit crooked : only a tiny kilometer of common border (at Hanam's Hakam-dong) unites two otherwise distant blocks and furthermore, a mountain (Namhansan) prevents both urban centers from actually connecting. Gwangju is the obvious missing piece that would complete a puzzle as harmoniously* shaped as the capital Seoul.

- Precisely, Gwangju used to be a capital, and the 3-city-merger would have made perfect sense at the historical level. The young city of Hanam (established on January 1st, 1989) owes its name to the former capital of Baekjae Kingdom, and used to belong to Gwangju-gun. Besides, the Gwangju corner that fills the puzzle, the fortress of Namhansanseong, would be the trio's perfect pivotal landmark.

Joining the duo later may prove more difficult...


A STIMULATING URBAN CHALLENGE

This administrative measure will necessarily have more or less telluric effects. Typically, the old core of Seongnam city, sidelined by Bundang and Pangyo, appears now central and is very much likely to experience some kind of revival.

Today, Seongnam-Hanam looks as unbalanced as Incheon, with very various landscapes, from the Southwestern New Towns to the Northeastern nature (Hangang, Geomdansan). And each block is disfigured by a major highway hub : Pangyo InterChange (Highway 1 to Busan / Circular 100) for Seongnam, Hanam Junction for Hanam (100 with Highway 35 to Daejeon).

Bundang lost some of its luster but remains a success story. Yet competition is raging with cities further south. Cities which don't have as many natural obstacles to development.

I'm sure city planners are full of ideas. But I hope destroying Namhansan is not one of them. Seoul green belts are definitely in real danger these days.

Seoul Village 2009

* from a distance at least, because each city lies in a different valley and connecting the centers would somehow mean replacing mountains with concrete.

Seoul Subway Line 9

The long expected Seoul Subway Line 9 (Gimpo Airport - Bangi-dong) has eventually been inaugurated on July the 24th, 2009.

Basically, the new line draws a perfect big smile under the pure Offenbach moustache of the Hangang :
- the fist section inaugurated Friday (25 stations out of 37) stretches from Gaehwa Station (Gimpo Car Depot in Gaehwa-dong) to ShinNonhyeon Station (on Bongeunsa-ro, near the Ritz Carlton Hotel), connects with all North / South lines, focuses on major business hubs (Gimpo Airport, Yeouido, Express Bus Terminal, Gangnam-gu), and of course improves public transportation coverage, most noticeably in Gangseo-gu.
- a second effort will connect line 9 with line 2 at the Jamsil Sports Complex (5 more stations), and
- a final (?) tail shall reach the frontier with Hanam city (not before 2015)

Line 9 starts in Ganseo-gu by completing a loop around Gimpo Airport with Line 5 : both lines connect at Gimpo Airport Station itself (where they meet the A'REX train, which leads to Incheon Airport) and backstage, there is a direct link between Banghwa car depot and Gimpo Car Depot. Line 9 creates two stations West and East of Gimpo Airport Station : respectively Gaehwa Station and Airport Market Station.

After that, the new line darts towards its next hub, Yeouido, mainly along Yangcheon-gil, a big street parallel to the river. Filling the big gap North of Line 5, it drops a lot of new stations on the way : Sinbanghwa, Magongnaru (to be connected to AREX), Yangcheon Hyanggyo, Gayang, Jeungmi, Deungchon, Yeomchang, Sinmokdong, and Seonyudo.

At Dangsan Station, Line 9 starts connecting with all the lines linking Gangbuk and Gangnam (both sides of the river) :
- Line 2 at Dangsan Station
(1 new station between Dangsan and Yeouido : National Assembly)
- Line 5 at Yeouido Station
(1 new station between Yeouido and Noryangjin : Saetgang Station - the island is now fully covered with 4 stations forming a cross between lines 5 and 9)
- Line 1 at Noryangjin Station
(2 new stations between Noryangjin and Dongjak : Nodeul and Heukseok / Chung-Ang University - NB: Noryangjin area is under renovation well beyond the market with a major newtown)
- Line 4 at Dongjak Station
(2 new stations between Dongjak and Express Bus Terminal : Gubanpo and Sinbanpo)
- Line 3 and Line 7 at Express Bus Terminal Station (more than ever a key hub)
(2 new stations after EBT: Sapyeong and Sinnonhyeon)

In its further developments, Line 9 will keep following Bongeunsa-ro between the parallel lines 2 and 7, until it connects with the former at Sports Complex Station. That's an area dense with hotels which for sure will benefit from a direct connection to Seoul airports. The four new stations between Sinnonhyeon and Sports Complex will be Samjeong, Samneung, Bongeunsa, and COEX.

Note that Samneung Station will also belong to the Bundang Line, another strategic North / South axis between Wangshimni and Suwon. The bulk of that line is already operational, between nearby Seollung Station and far away Bojeong Station (in Yongin city). The Wangshimni-Seollung section seems to be proceeding well, visibly with the help of many Cambodian workers : I noticed bilingual Korean-Cambodian signs on the construction sites at Seongsu / Seoul Forest. By the way : Wangshimni, surrounded with its new towns, will become a major transportation hub, with new connections to Seoul Station and future Gyeonggi-do express train systems.

But let's move back to our Line 9. After Jamsil Sports Complex, it should snake its way NorthEastwards, in the direction of Hanam city, filling some gaps in Songpa-gu subway network and establishing new connections. The last 7 stations shall be : Jamsil, Samjeon, Seokchon (connection with Line 8), Songpa (not far from Mongchontoseong Station - Line 8), Bangi, Olympic Park (connection with Line 5), and Oryun.

Overall, Seoul's extended metropolitan network keeps growing new tentacles at a very interesting pace. I was used to a Seoul with 4 subway lines plus the old Korail network, and after a spectacular boom during the 90s, densification seems now well advanced. Other cities grow new lines, connect to each other. Songdo stations just opened on time for the Incheon Festival.

Many areas remain poorly served, but light trains are also multiplying. Sometimes at a price : this week-end, five people were killed in Uijeongbu as a steel frame collapse during the construction of a light train bridge. Line 9 remains underground except for its first station.


NB: Line 9 is neither operated by Seoul Metropolitan Subway Co nor by Seoul Metropolitan Rail Transit Co, nor by Korail, but by a new and dedicated structure operated by Veolia Transport (website metro9.co.kr not in English version yet).