Gangbuk LRT - Naebu v. Seobu, or PARK v. OH?

Out of the blue, Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled a brand new, 24.8 km, 15-station subway line joining Mok-dong (Yangcheon-gu) to Cheongnyangni (Dongdaemun-gu) along the Naebu Expressway, that disgraceful overpass scarring countless Seoul neighborhoods*.

Construction would start as early as 2021, for a project that was not even part of the 10 LRT projects announced for 2025 in 2015 ("Seoul subway to gain 89 km by 2025"). Yet, it would connect the dots between two of them: the Mok-dong Line to the West (Sinwol-dong - Mok-dong), and the Myeonmok Line to the East (Cheongnyangni - Sinnae).

"서울 내부순환로 땅 밑으로 '강북횡단 경전철' 건설 추진 출처" (Chosun Ilbo 20190212)

*

As you well know, I'm all for new railway lines, but all this seems a bit hasty, if not suspicious:

• such projects usually take years and years to study, and 2021 seems a very aggressive target for starting the construction
• the route doesn't seem optimized for transportation needs, but happens to be on land mostly owned by the city, which may speed up the process
• as we've seen before, subway projects are highly political in Seoul, and countless railway projects announced before key elections have been dumped afterwards. Yet as soon as a project actually starts, land value immediately jumps
• the only date given is the start of the project, and 2021 happens to be the year preceding the next presidential elections
• this Gangbuk LRT / Naebu Line / Naebuseon could cannibalize, and maybe even kill a major project the city and many partners have been working on for a long while: the Seobu Line / Seobuseon, confirmed as a priority by the city not so long ago ("Seobu Line confirmed as Seoul's LRT top priority")
• Seobuseon was initiated under former mayor OH Se-hoon who, like his successor PARK Won-soon, hasn't given up his presidential ambitions, even if, for the moment, both are lagging behind in the polls**
• this new project is supposed to be part of Seoul's third urban railways plan, to be announced later (that's a 10-year plan, last one was for 2015-2025, maybe the plan will be revealed in 2020, but this can't wait because of the elections)
• ...

This may sound a tad cynical but again, announcements related to subways have always been heavily political (whatever the party in charge), because there's so much at stake at the real estate level, and you know how much that counts in Seoul.

*

Now, let's have a closer look at this new line. We don't have the details yet, particularly the list of stations, or how the Han River or Bugaksan shall be crossed (doubling Seongsan Bridge and the Bugak Tunnel? under the Hangang?), but we can get a more than general idea.

Comparing the new map (above) to the one featuring the previous 10 projects (see ""Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 1/2)", "Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)"), and of course the Naebu Expressway, here's my best guess, going from West to East:

• 'Gangbuk LRT' seems to start from the potential Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital station of the Mok-dong Line (west of Anyangcheon, and Dangsan Station). 
• it then seems to intersect with Line 9 at Sinmok-dong Station before crossing the river on Seongsan Bridge
• on the other side of the river, it would certainly meet Line 6 at Mapo-gu Office
• after that, it probably connects with Gyeongui Jungang Line / Gyeongui Line at Gajwa Station, and Line 3 at Hongje Station, with a couple stations in-between (at least one at the intersection of Jeungga-ro and Hongjecheon, between Yeonhui-dong and Namgajwa-dong, and one at Seodaemun-gu Office)
• we know that the new line joins the Ui-Sinseol LRT line at Jeongneung Station (Seongbuk-gu), but it would be utterly stupid to spend millions just crossing the mountain like the Naebu Expressway, and leaving Jongno-gu's Pyeongchang-dong valley completely off Seoul's railway grid. I would rather follow the road (Segeomjeong-ro / Pyeongchangmunhwa-ro), and add one station right before Inwangsan (in Hongeun-dong), and a couple in the valley itself, for example***: 
• one at the feet of Sangmyung University Seoul (Hongji-dong at Jahamun-ro), or at the Sinyeong-dong Samgeori (Segumjung Elementary School at Jinheung-ro)
• one or two at the intersection with the roads leading uphill (e.g. at Pyeongchang 20-gil)
• so far, between Mok-dong and Jeongneung, we have listed 9 to 11 stations, which leaves us 4 to 6 until the end. Judging by the map, I could add up to 5 existing stations: on Line 4 (Gireum Station), Line 6 (Wolgok Station, Korea University Station), and Line 1 (Jegi-dong Station, Cheongnyangni).

The main advantages would be to cover two big holes in Seoul's subway map: central Seodaemun-gu, and Pyeongchang-dong, and to add horizontality where it could make sense. But the Seobu Line is far better designed for the needs of Western Seoul, doubling the Naebu Expressway would demand disproportionate investments, and there are probably far smarter horizontals to build.

Of course, the fact that many cars use an urban highway doesn't mean that many citizens would take the same route by subway. Fundamentally, this top-down project doesn't seem fully thought through. I hope Seoul has a more serious and comprehensive plan to not only fix these two holes, but also pave more cleverly the (rail)way for the removal of the city's embarrassing elevated expressways.

*

Anyway, even if this project fails, and even if Mayor PARK fails in 2022, he still can run another marathon: Seoul has just been confirmed as Pyongyang's sister city in the bid for the 2032 Olympic Games (little suspense there, Busan didn't make much geographical sense):

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* most dramatically in the charming Hongjecheon valley (see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway")
** in a mirror fashion, Prime Minister LEE Nak-yon leads against Seoul Mayor PARK while former PM HWANG Kyo-ahn leads against former Seoul Mayor OH (including in the race for LKP leadership later this month, with a vote expected during Trump-Kim Summit II in Hanoi):

2022 poll (JoongAng Ilbo): liberals LEE Nak-yon, RHYU Si-min, PARK Won-soon, conservatives HWANG Kyo-ahn, OH Se-hoon, HONG Joon-pyo (20190103 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1080637278605570048)

*** that's what I had in mind in the 'second circular line' project mentioned in my comment dated "August 20, 2013 at 6:00 PM"

Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 2/2)

This post completes my tryptic on the revised Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Master Plan:

• Episode 1 ("If you ain't broke, fix it: Seoul, Welfare and Railways Deficits"): focus on the macro level of this master plan (the big picture, and Seoul's proposed 3 priority axes
• Episode 2 ("Seoul LRT Projects Update (Part 1/2)"): focus on the full list of 10 LTR projects, 3 potential further projects (in blue on the map below), and the first 3 lines of the list, which I dubbed "The 3-Tailed Dragon" (Seobu Line, Sillim Line, Nangok Line)
• Episode 3 (today): the rest of the list, including another intriguing phenomenon, the tentacles of Line 2.
• NB: you may as well browse all posts related to Seoul subway

Before starting, one last glance at the map...

Seoul map with the projected LRT lines: the initial 7 in black, the updated list of 10 in red, 3 potential further projects in blue

... and at the updated list of LRT lines (7 + 3 + maybe 3, see previous post), with their projected daily traffic and length:

• 7 lines in the initial list (in black on the above map):
• Dongbuk Line (183,276 users, 13.3 km extended to 14.3)
• Seobu Line (163,754 users, 15.7 km extended to 19.5) - see previous post
• Sillim Line (119,743 users, 8.9 km extended to 10) - see previous post
• Myeonmok Line (91,472 users, 9 km)
• Mok-dong Line (89,587 users, 10.8 km)
• Nangok Line (54,247 users, 4.1 km) - see previous post
• Ui-Sincheol Extension (30,227 users, 3.5 km)
• 3 new lines (in red on the above map):
• Wirye-Sinsa Line (168,784 users, 14.8 km)
• Subway Line 9 Extension (65,159 users, 3.8 km)
• Wirye (33,081 users, 5 km)
• for the 3 potential further projects (in blue on the above map), see previous post

And remember: this is only Seoul's wishlist, n projects at various stages of maturity, not even a final proposal. Don't expect everything to happen.



Mokdong Line: a new tentacle for Line 2

I'm starting with this project today to wrap up Southwest Seoul (after the Seobu, Sillim, Nangok lines and the Hongdae-Hwagok project). The Mokdong Line seems to be doubling the Subway Line 5 and the weird Sindorim-Kkachisan tentacle that grows from Subway Line 2. Actually, "Mokdong" is basically a new L-shaped Line 2 tentacle reaching from Dangsan to Sinwol, that crosses the first one without any connection, and fundamentally brings more traffic to Line 2 and to the growing Dangsan hub. On a more positive note, it alleviates the Sindorim and Yeongdeungpo-gu Office stations, and serves more directly central Mok-dong (between lines 5 and 9), plus the westernmost neighborhoods of Guro-gu, on the outer side of line 5.

• Fundamentally, I don't like the idea of multiplying converging lines to a saturated axis, and to see all new line projects stop at Seoul borders, as if it were a wall. Particularly when, on the other side of this frontier, Bucheon's Ojeong-gu is solely crossed by the Gyeongin Expressway. I subscribe to the ambition of having most Seoul citizens living a maximum 10 mn walk away from subway stations, but Seoul is not an island, the city must improve its dialog with Gyeonggi-do, offer alternative to cars for commuters, consider maybe a second ring beyond line 2.... Always this deficit in vision and long term impacts, but also always these political bottlenecks at the local, regional, and national levels, which tend to multiply quick fixes, and to prevent larger scale and more sustainable projects from emerging.

• The 12 projected stations (approximative list):
• Dangsan Station (Subway Lines 2, 9) in Dangsan-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu: a confirmation of the Dangsan-Yeouido-Noryangjin triple hub. The Mokdong Lines heads westwards.
• Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital / Wolchon Middle School at the frontier of Yangpyeong-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu: a high density "apateu" neighborhood on the other side of Anyangcheon
• Mok-dong / SBS in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu: on the other side of the Gyeongin Expressway / Gukhoe-daero axis, by SBS center.
• Omokgyo Station (Subway Line 5) in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu: still following the general direction of the Mokdongseo-ro / Mokdongdong-ro axis.
• Yangcheon-gu Office in Sinjeong-dong, Yangcheon-gu: the station will be close to the actual office, a couple of blocks away from the Yangcheon-gu Office Station on the older "tentacle" of Line 2... I hope they are somehow connected, or that they'll come up with a different name, otherwise we're in for another Sinchon Station mess (the Line 2 - Gyeongui Line stations share the same name but are not connected). But according to the maps, the new tentacle crosses the old one without any connecting station. I know this is a light rail, low cost project, but considering the scarcity of subway lines in this city, I don't understand how one can come up with non-intersections. This is supposed to be a network, for gimchi's sake! Granted, it's already complicated to get a train in the direction of these weird tentacles...
• Sintree Park in Sinjeong-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection of Jungang-ro and Sinjeong-ro. Line 2 passes here, and if this Sintree Station were on line 2, it would be exactly halfway between Yangcheon-gu Office and Sinjeongnegeori Stations.
• Seobu Truck Terminal / Yangcheon high schools in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection between Nambusunhwan-ro (Nambu Ringway) and Sinjeong-ro, which continues across Waryongsan to Bucheon via the Gungdong Tunnel. At one stage, a short sub-tentacle was supposed to grow from here to Sinjeong District 3 and to a line depot, but the line follows Nambu Ringway northwards
• Gangsin Middle School in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: further on Nambusunhwan-ro 
• Gangwol Elementary School in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection with Sinwol-ro. A lot of apartment blocks have been erected to the left of these last two stations, on the eastern slopes of Waryongsan, where the sub-tentacle would have landed.
• Sinwol Interchange in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection between Nambu Ringway and Gyeongjin Expressway
• Sinwol-dong Sageori in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection with Garogongwon-ro, which leads to Gogang-dong, Ojeong-gu, Bucheon
• Sinwol in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu: at the intersection with Hwagok-ro, a significant road that leads to Gayang Bridge and the DMC to the East and (as Bongo-daero) to Jakjeon Station in Incheon

Ui-Banghak Line: not so simple

After yesterday's "3-Tailed Dragon" and this new tentacle, I'm taking a break with the simpler Ui-Banghak Line. No headache here, we're only prolonging the Ui-Sinseol Line, already well under way, to Banghak Station. The vertical between Bukhansan and Line 4 will then follow the parallel all the way to Subway Line 1.

• No headhache? Note that Ui-Sinseol basically prolongs Line 2's eastern tentacle (Seongsu-Sinseol-dong), but that's not the same technology (LRT). Note also that this is not exactly an extension, but an outgrowth starting from the next to last station (Ui - Munigyo)... do we need more sub-tentacles? Typically the consequence of short term planning.

• The 12 initial stations (reminder) - NB: tentative names, as usual here:
• Sinseol-dong (Subway Lines 1, 2) in Dongdaemun-gu.
• Bomun (Subway Line 6) in Seongbuk-gu
• Sungshin Women's University (Subway Line 4) in Seongbuk-gu
• Jeongneung (Jeongneung Samgeori) in Seongbuk-gu
• Kookmin University - Seokyeong University (Jeongneung-dong) in Seongbuk-gu
• Sinmia / Dongbuk Market in Gangbuk-gu
• Samyang-dong Samgeori / Samyang Market in Gangbuk-gu
• Hwagyesa / Sinsuyu in Gangbuk-gu
• Ui Elementary School / Insu / Suyu in Gangbuk-gu
• 4.19 Memorial Cemetery in Gangbuk-gu - close to Duksung Women's University in Dobong-gu
• Ui / Munigyo Samgeori in Gangbuk-gu
• Bukhansan / Ui-dong Resort in Gangbuk-gu. Theoretically the beginning of the line, and the line depot.
• 2 new stations are planned for the new Ui-Banghak Line (4 stations overall):
• Ui / Munigyo Samgeori (Ui-Sinseol Line) in Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu: intersection of Samyang-ro and Haedeung-ro, which the new line takes eastwards, crossing Uicheon.
• Banghak / Ssangmun / Seondeokgogyoipgu in Banghak-dong and Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu: at the intersection between Haedeung-ro and Sirubong-ro, in the middle of a massive new town. The line continues eastwards then takes Dobang-ro to the left.
• Dobang in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu: intersection between Dobang-ro and Sirubong-ro 15-gil
• Banghak Station (Subway Line 1) in Dobong-dong, Dobong-gu:

Dongbuk Line: The Northeastern Light Rail Highway

One of the longest projects, and the one expecting the heaviest traffic, the Dongbuk Line improves coverage in Northeast Seoul and alleviates traffic from the saturated subway lines 1 and 4. Starting from Wangsimni Station, it initially stopped at Eunhaeng Sageori, but has been stretched to Sanggye Station.

• Wangsimni confirms its role as a major hub west of the city center. Seoul takes care of its bed towns on the way, but doesn't extend the hand to the other side of Buramsan (well in the first place, Gyeonggi-do didn't plan any railway for its own New Towns there - a total nonsense for XXIst century urban planning).

• Projected stations (tentative list):
• Wangsimni Station (Subway Line 2, 5, Jungang Line) in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu
• Doseon Sageori in Doseon-dong, Majang-dong, and Hongik-dong, Seongdong-gu: intersection of Gosanja-ro and Majang-ro
• Jegi-dong Station (Subway Line 1) in Yongdu-dong and Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu. Note that we could have stopped on the way at Yongdu Station in the eastern tentacle of Line 2.
• Korea University Station (Subway Line 6) in Jongam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Cheongnyangni-dong, Dongdaemun-gu
• Sungnye Elementary School in Jongam-dong, Seongbuk-gu: along Jongam-ro
• Jongam in Jongam-dong, Seongbuk-gu
• Miasamgeori Station (Subway Line 4) in Songcheon-dong and Songjung-dong, Gangbuk-gu. From then, the line follows the Wolgye-ro diagonal
• Odong Park - Dream Forest in Songjung-dong, Gangbuk-gu
• Dream Forest in Beon-dong, Gangbuk-gu, and Jangwi-dong, Seongbuk-gu
• Wolgye Station (Subway Line 1) in Wolgye-dong, Nowon-gu: then, the line crosses Jungnangcheon, and Wolgye-ro becomes Hangeulbiseong-ro
• Hagye Station (Subway Line 7) in Hagye-dong, Nowon-gu: and the new SeMA Nowon
• Daejin High School in Hagye-dong, Nowon-gu: intersection Hangeulbiseong-ro / Nowon-ro
• Eunhaeng Sageori in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu: intersection Hangeulbiseong-ro / Junggye-ro (reminder: walk up that street to reach Baeksa Maeul). Where the line stopped in previous plans.
• Sanggye Station (Subway Line 4)

Myeonmok Line: Eastern Eggs

Starting from Cheongnyangni, the Myeonmok Line covers a triangle between subway lines 1, 5, and 7 in Dongdaemun-gu, and almost reaches subway line 6 in Sinnae-dong, on the other side of the Jungang Line.

• Private investors are interested by this line. Maybe because it can easily be prolonged, at a cheaper cost than line 6, to the Namyangju New Towns that will necessarily have to be connected some day. And speaking of connections, this line ignores the old Jungan Line as well as the Bonghwasan terminus of Line 6.

• Projected stations (tentative list):
• Cheongnyangni Station (Jungang Line, Subway Line 1) in Jeonnong-dong and Cheongnyangni-dong, Dongdaemun-gu.
• University of Seoul in Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu: the gate at Seoulsiripdae-ro and Jeonnong-ro
• Jeonnong-dong in Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu
• Jangan-dog Sageori in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu: at the intersection of Dapsimni-ro and Jangan-ro, the line continues along the former, crosses Jungnangcheon
• Myeonmok / Myeongmokcheon-ro in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu
• Myeonmok Station (Subway Line 7) in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu
• Dongwon Sageori / Gyeomjae Samgeori in Mangu-dong, Jungnang-gu
• Yongmasan in Mangu-dong, Jungnang-gu: intersection Yongmasan-ro / Bongujae-ro, former Yongmaland amusement park
• Mangu Sageori in Mangubon-dong, Mangu-bong, Jungnang-gu: intersection Yongmasan-ro / Mangu-ro - NB: we're passing between the Mangu and Yangwon stations of the Jungan Line, but no connection...
• Jungnang-gu Office in Sinnae-dong, Jungnang-gu
• Neungsan Samgeori in Sinnae-dong, Jungnang-gu
• Sinnae in Sinnae-dong, Jungnang-gu

Wirye Sinsa Line & Wirye Line: New Town, Old Routes

At the frontier with Seongnam, Wirye New Town (Geoyeo-dong and Jangji-dong, Songpa-gu) gives its name to two projects:

• The Wirye Line is an omnibus crossing the whole new town with 9 very close outdoor stations (it really looks like the Paris Tramway), and perfectly connected on both sides to existing subway lines (Macheon on line 5, Bokjeong on lines 3 and 8). Again, I'm not a fan of new town, but I would never allow any major project that doesn't from day one include a robust railway backbone, and this one has at least that right. Do we need 9 stations, and did we need this new town in the first place, that's another question.

• The Wirye Sina Line does more than connect this new block to the grid: it goes all the way through to Sinsa, and I think this area has already seen many new lines in a recent past. Almost 15 km of essentially redundant lines, THAT's probably way too much.
• The line would start from the lower third of the new town (7th station out of 9 on Wirye Line), follow line 8 around Jangji-Munjeong, until Garak Market. This first stretch is totally redundant and disproportionate. Remember, Wirye Line IS already connected to Line 8. Had this WSL started from the 5th station of the WL, and added a brand new station in the middle of non covered land (Munjeong-dong - Jangji-dong, halfway to Garak Market) it would still look too much.
• After Garak Market, miracle: a new station in a less covered place (even then, Garak-1-dong is close to Songpa Station. WSL follows Tancheon and Tancheondong-ro, but I don't see any station on that long stretch... which line 9 is supposed to be covering soon anyway. So here again, almost total redundancy.
• What next? WSL goes north, crosses lines 2 (Samseong Station), 9, and 7 (Cheongdam Station). Then it becomes a parallel to the same lines 2, 9, and 7, that will meet the soon to be extended Bundang Line, and meet Line 3.

Line 9 Extension

From the start, the Subway Line 9 Extension tells a lot about the failed Subway Line 5 fork. Forks and tentacles are not natural forms for railways. Line 9 will basically follow this vertical from Seoul Veterans Hospital (Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-gu) to Godeok Gangil District 1 (Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu), but frankly prolonging subway line 8 would have done the job. It's just that while many neighborhoods have yet to see a railway line, some love to build three or four parallels just for fun. Okay. I'm getting tired here. And it's good to have a line (9) that crosses the whole city - and I hope, one day, beyond (I already wrote that I expected one of these lines to reach to Guri and Hanam. Someday).

*

Now if you don't mind, I'll drop the maps and take a nap.

Until the next batch of projects.


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* see "'서울 어디서나 도시철도 10분' - 철도 중심시대가 열립니다" (seoul.go.kr 20130725)

From Sweet Home to Happy Housing

Remember Bogeumjari ("Sweet Home")? LEE Myung-bak's government decided to bite into Seoul's remaining green sanctuaries to build homes for the underpriviledged - behind the noble alibi, an environmental, urban, economic, and social nonsense (see "Tighten your greenbelt").

"Sweet Home", but Sour Greenbelt: welcome to Bogeumjari Gangnam

The PARK Geun-hye government tries another concept: Haengbok Jutaek ("Happy Housing"). The idea is to improve existing neighborhoods, promote social mixity, and - hopefully - develop a more sustainable story while building 10,000 new units to rent for households in the need.

How to find affordable land on more central areas? By covering railway tracks and reservoir facilities, for instance, like at Oryu-dong Station (Guro-gu), or Gajwa Station (Namgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu). It confirms recent declarations about covering railways across Seoul, something the DMC would badly need to improve the urban continuity with Susaek-dong and Eunpyeong-gu.

I don't know how if the "University Student Town" planned over Gajwa Station (Gyeongui Line) will replace or compete with a similar project in Hongje, also in Seodaemun, also targeting students from the 5 nearby universities (see "Along Hongjecheon, my way or the highway"):

Seodaemun University Student Town and other Happy Housing projects ("서대문엔 대학생 타운, 안산엔 외국인 센터 짓는다" - Chosun Ilbo 20130521)

Overall, 6 neighborhoods have been selected in Seoul*, plus one in Ansan, where the story will be about multicultural dialog (in Gojan-dong, Danwon-gu, with a focus on foreign workers). The final list will be confirmed in July, and authorizations signed by the end of the year. Other regions might follow.

Anyway, "Sweet Home" or "Happy Housing", it still doesn't look like a little house on the Seoul prairie...


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* the other 4 are in Garak-dong and Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu, Gongneung-dong in Nowon-gu, and Mok-dong in Yangcheon-gu

The New Seven Wonders of Green Technologies

Except of course in the case of fair democratic elections, I tend to take popular votes with a grain of salt, particularly in the age of the internet. For instance, last year's intense lobbying to get Jeju-do in the list of the New 7 Wonders of Nature reminded me of that 1999 Time Magazine internet poll supposed to select the Man of the Century: at one point, following a surge by Turkish nationalists, Mustapha Kemal was leading in most categories, from best politician to best scientist and best artist. If the same poll were led today, Pyeongyang would probably ask millions of zombie computers to cast a ballot in favor of KIM Il-sung, or even KIM Jong-il, the most prolific author ever (according to the legend, KIM The Second wrote more than 1,500 books).

I do believe in crowdsourcing, though, and in the benefits of consulting non-experts. But you have to keep a clear editorial line and some level of expertise in order to tame the wildest pet projects (exhibit A, without any picture, please: the infamous 'floating island' built on the Han River after the design of an ordinary Seoul citizen, following an open call for suggestions).

New and exotic ways of tackling environmental challenges have probably come out of a recent brainstorming session organized by Seoul with its citizens ("Great Citizens' Debate On Reducing One Nuclear Power Plant" - April 16, 2012), and I have the confused feeling that there might be some correlation with the list of 7 "Green Technologies" announced last week by Seoul Metropolitan Government for its future R&D investments (KRW 1.5 bn next year).

In Seoul, 90% of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings and transports, which explains the priority set, until now*, on energy saving technologies and processes, building efficiency, waste management, electric vehicles, fuel cells, public transportation, bikeshare programs, regulations against abuses in air-con / heating... But here, it's hard to find any kind of focus considering the - drum roll please - list of New 7 Wonders of Green Technologies (actually the "Support for Promotion of Green Technology Development in Seoul 2012")**:

1- "development of a power generator using low waterfalls"
2- "elimination of black carbon emanating from meat roasted on open fires in Korean restaurants"
3- "recycling of landfill-bound waste"
4- "development of an anaerobic digestion model and processes for maximizing methane production"
5- "technology for evaluating the performance of LED lighting systems"
6- "development of light LED street lamps focusing on forward lighting"
7- "technology for developing and maintaining natural grass school playgrounds"

Let's start with point 1. If hydropower for low waterfalls is not as worthy of the Ig Nobel Prize as a 50 year long study on knuckle-cracking (for this most essential piece of research, the last Prize recipient used himself as a guinea pig), it doesn't seem to be a priority for a city that does boast splendid mountains, but basically regulates Cheonggyecheon or the Hongjecheon Waterfall by using simple faucets.

To me, point 2 sounds like a bulgogi version of the "Clean Coal" imposture: instead of wasting money on R&D to eliminate "black carbon emanating from meat roasted on open fires in Korean restaurants", why not regulate the use of charcoal altogether? And even I, a BBQ-loving ogre, am fully aware that the best way to reduce the carbon footprint would be to eat less meat.

Now all the way down the list, to point 7. "Developing and maintaining natural grass school playgrounds"? The citizen who suggested this brilliant idea probably never tried to grow natural grass in a country with very dry and cold winters, and very hot and humid summers. No wonder many schools used dirt in the first place, switching to artificial turf when the technology got better and cheaper: you can enjoy green all year round without feeding Monsanto shareholders, and save for genuine biomass over the rest of your campus. If I were Seoul city, I'd rather invest in sustainable low-cost urban farming techniques that can work all year round (soil-less cultivation, vertical crops...), and replace all those acres of "vinyl houses" (the negation of sustainable farming and a visual pollution if I ever saw one), with genuine, "natural" grassland.

Seoul Mayor wants to give away land for citizens to tend small kitchen gardens and I see the point. The concept is very popular in Europe, and has a positive social impact at the micro level of small neighborhoods. It's also good for image, and Lotte Department Store recently installed one on its rooftop as a 'well-being' service to its customers. But implementing it on a large scale, with individuals often abusing chemicals to compete for the best shrubbery, could prove counter-productive. Such initiatives should always remain sincere, and, literally, 'grassroot'.

Until now, big cities have been the problem, and they have to become the solution as most humans live in urban environments. Yes, cities need more nature, and bringing the countryside into the city is always pleasant, but it's no more a solution than bringing the city into the countryside. Smart urban farming may also help solving the tricky food equation our planet is facing, and reduce the negative impacts of agriculture in rural areas.
"Anaerobic digestion" (point 4) or algae biomass could become sustainable alternatives to fossile fuels, knowing that, of course, the aim of the game is not to "maximiz(e) methane production", methane being great fuel, but also a gas much more damaging than CO2 when it comes to greenhouse effect.

"Recycling of landfill-bound waste" (point 3) is not a new idea, and progress can be made simply by optimizing existing processes. For instance, the Nowon-Dongdaemun waste valorization center used to be lagging behind Seoul's three other centers, working at 67% capacity compared to 80% for Yangcheon-gu, Mapo-gu, and Gangnam-gu. Series of reunions helped close the gap within only 100 days, and even led to reductions in production costs.

Since their promotion was already a priority for the previous administration, Seoul is more in the implementation stage for LED technologies (points 5-6). The city just signed a MOU*** with the 206 member strong Korea LED Association (KLEDA - kleda.or.kr) to replace, with a 40% discount on materials and installation, all the lightings in the underground parking facilities of 1.2 million apartments and 800,000 business buildings by 2014, with hospitals and convenience stores as potential future targets. Those who cannot invest even at that discounted price will continue paying on their following electricity bills as if there were no savings, until the investment is fully paid for. Furthermore, the equivalent of 1% of the equipment will help finance energy for underprivileged citizens. The estimated economy of energy is 297 GWh or KRW 32.7 bn per year.

At our micro level, we're far from producing that much energy with our few solar panels, but they do trim off great chunks of our electricity bill. Even considering the fact that, if you play by the rules and install separate counters, you end up paying more VAT than you should. But that's part of the game. When you want green back, you don't always expect greenbacks.

Seoul Village 2012
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*see previous focuses on environment, for instance "Electric buses, Smart Chargers : Seoul is really getting serious", "Seoul Rooftops Go Green", "Public bike rental services bloom in Seoul and around"...
**"Technology to be developed to generate hydroelectric power in Seoul"
***"Seoul to distribute 2 million LED lights by 2014"