Lower Sejongdaero's turn

Seoul's most defining avenue, Sejongdaero, is getting all the attention it deserves from the municipal government. After the highly controversial plans to revamp its upper half (see "Gwanghwamun Square 3.0 re-Deep-Surfaces"), the focus seems to be on the lower half, between Sejongno sageori and Seoul Station. This includes cosmetic changes in adjacent neighborhoods, most recently in Jeong-dong (see "Jeong-dong forever"), or around Sungnyemun (Jung-gu decided to harmonize signage for 80 stores between Seoullo 7017 and the gate*), but now a more ambitious program will help pedestrians, cyclists, and tree huggers reclaim a space almost as car-centric as the upper section before Gwanghwamun Square.

Sejong-daero towards Gwanghwamun, viewed from the Deoksugung-Seoul Plaza crossing

The main changes (drawn here by Kim Yeong-eun for Yonhap News Agency**), expected by the end of the year, consist in reducing the number of traffic lanes (from 12 to 7-9; at least that's consistent with the new bottlenecks conceived further North around the avenue), and improve the pedestrian experience, particularly around Deoksugung and Sungnyemun / Namdaemun Market:

A lot of trees shall be added to widened sidewalks, with some species diversity which is really positive. Even if naming this "Sejong Forest" (세종숲) sounds a bit over the top (at least the Gyeongui Line Forest Park was more honest with its "숲길", which could be translated into 'Forest walk / way / street').

A plaza and a tree trail shall improve the barren entrance to Namdaemun Market from Sungnyemun

I'm looking forward to the new bicycle lane all along the 1.5km stretch (I criticized the city for not adding some on day one when they renovated the Northern section of Sejongdaero for Gwanghwamun Square), and the eased pedestrian circulation around Sungnyemun, which even after the changes will remain basically a peninsula in a sea of cars:

A better experience for pedestrians and cyclists, but still car centric

Moving back to Deoksugung and Jeong-dong, this close up of Daehanmun shows that, beyond the extension of the plaza and sidewalks, Deoksugung-gil is likely to become car-free, at least partly (and I presume at least on weekends and holidays, like Insadong-gil):

Overall, nothing revolutionary, but significant improvements for Sejong-daero. Needless to say, Mayor Park Won-soon would love to see part of downtown's growing - at least B.C. / Before Coronavirus - tourist traffic walk closer to his pet project Seoullo 7017. before the 2022 presidential elections.
 Again, I can't stress enough the importance of Sejong-daero, the spine of downtown Seoul, at its original core. We're talking urban stem cells here. ICYMI here's the short video I made to explain the dynamic map of Seoul intra muros a.k.a. Sadeaemun (fortress walls, main gates, mountains and streams, key landmarks, vertical and horizontal axes...):




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* "서울 중구, 세종대로 등 145개 점포 간판 정비" (Yonhap News 20200420).
** "세종대로 1.5km 구간 보행로 대폭 확장…차로 12개→9개 축소" (Yonhap News 20020426)

Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part III)

This is the final part of my focus on Magok District:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

The future Seoul Botanic Park will feature 3,0000 plant species (its flower-shaped indoor facility - bottom right - is already visible from a distance).

***

3) Magok's lifespace


If Gangseo-gu is not an usual darling for real estate speculators, Magok scores much better than most Seoul neighborhoods. Beyond its potential and dynamics in terms of location, connectivity, or research hub, people seem to believe in its quality of life, and to trust SH Corporation for delivering the goods.

Rebranded two years ago Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation*, this public institution has led the development from its early stages, with a mandate to put families, environment and sustainable mobility at the core of the project, a clear difference with other innovation clusters where business preempted everything.

Seoul Business Agency (SBA) did play a central role in Magok as it did in the DMC, but in the latter, residential developments were secondary, and not considered as a key factor of success. And we saw how the Gale International - Posco tandem struggled in Songdo.

Pangyo too enjoyed a partnership between national and local authorities for its Pangyo Techno Valley (Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion established in 2010), but for its residential areas, it only had to surf on the Bundang wave, and from the start flush with private money, that very hyped 'New Town' got 'blessed' with more than a few luxury residences.

Like Pangyo, Magok started essentially from scratch. Revamping Guro Digital Complex, and supporting its evolution into a XXIst century G-Valley demands different efforts from Seoul and Kicox (Korea Industrial Complex Corporation).

Magok wasn't dragged down by ailing neighborhoods in need of regeneration. The central role of public authorities is a guarantee that everybody will profit, not a sign of destitution. I don't think Magok will become as 'bling-bling' as Eastern Gangnam either, but I don't see that as an inconvenient.

* 

How does this 'common good' approach translate into the landscape? For instance, beyond the central park, you don't have a collection of green spaces, each one managed by a gated apartment complex, but neighborhood parks connected by green corridors between open blocks. Branded M-Valley by SH Corporation, the residential complexes remain relatively low rise compared to other recent projects this side of the Han River, keeping in mind that this is a first development. Even if we're still in the classic 'apateu' model, there could be a greater sense of open community than in Pangyo's luxury town houses or from the top of a Songdo penthouse...

The green corridors are wider than Yeonnam-dong's 'Yeontral Park' (the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail), but without the streets, shops or restaurants on their sides, and only a few tables to picnic here and there, which minimizes noise pollution for the residents.

As I noticed before, along large sections of Seoul Botanic Park, blocks devoted to research centers sit right across the street (e.g. for the moment LG Science Park and Kolon One and Only Tower), which could be seen as a form of privatization, but could also become a motivation for them to open up, to let visitors roam their own land, to propose services that would flourish along the frontline in probably more anarchic ways, to blur the lines of a strict zoning. 

Tadao Ando's LG Art Center (see part II) provides a clearer example of how local communities can benefit from private infrastructure: parts of the program will involve residents, and the venue will eventually belong to Seoul city. 

For the moment, residential and research blocks stand out, and local businesses mostly develop around subway stations. The first significant hotel to open in the neighborhood mirrors its positioning: overlooking the park, Courtyard by Marriott is not the chain's most luxury brand, but provides quality stays for both business people and families.

*

Seoul issued guidelines and specs early in the project to make sure that environment, accessibility, or bicycle lanes were taken into account:

Water collection and filtering systems embedded in the buildings, roads, or parks

Accessibility and security at pedestrian crossings

Pedestrian crossings again, this time for bicycle lanes, always a tricky moment for cyclists

With its flatness and absence of major disruptors in its core (hills, river, railways, highways**), Magok District is perfect for cycling. 40% of all roads will have dedicated lanes, in a continuous network connecting the new neighborhood and its Seoul Botanic Park to the Hangang backbone. Beyond a 'Ddareungi' special zone facilitating commuting and leisure rides, or many bike parking facilities, four bike storage systems will be available at subway stations.

Bicycle-friendly Magok (left, one of the green diagonal corridors between apartment blocks - right, a protected bike lane that could be wider, like for instance the one along Seongmisan-ro in Seongsan-dong).

Magok's bicycle network

So it seems that even in this early stage, Magok is aiming at to the vision I finished my 2013 update with (see 'Magok District on cruise mode'):

"Now the most important remains to give some soul and consistence to this alleywayless place. You want to see residents and researchers venture beyond their homes and campuses, roam the streets, enjoy the city. The park and diagonal canal can give purpose, but let's not forget to optimize every single street for pedestrians and bicycles, make this neighborhood a destination from all directions, in continuity with Hangang Park, and the new neighboring communities (Banghwa, Balsan...)."

*

As usual, as an urbanist, I would have done things differently; Magok District doesn't signal a revolution in the Korean New Town or the Korean innovation cluster models. Yet it redefines Gangseo-gu, and beyond Southwest Seoul. It might even demonstrate that a big residential and business project South of the Han River can succeed without arrogance. What matters is that, ultimately, people live happily together in a place where trees, bicycles, and fellow earthlings are welcome.

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* see "Seoul summerscapes: death, taxes, and budongsan" 
** if Gonghangdae-ro is a wide and busy axis, it can't be compared to the Gyeongbu Expressway that separates Seopangyo and Dongpangyo

Magok District on cruise mode

Since last January's focus ("Magok District: SIM City as in "Seoul Intra Muros"? Alleyways as in "Seoul Inter Muros"?"), Magok District has steadily made the headlines, most notably:

• Business: extension of the LG Science Park project (from 130 to 170,000 sqm, and from 20 to 30,000 Research and Development staff)

At the core of the business district project. New batches of lots are regularly being proposed.

 

• Environment: Seoul city announced for 2016 an eco park combining a lake with a 60,000 sqm urban botanical garden, in addition to wetlands

Forget about the costly and futuristic waterfront project. This ecosystem will host 5,000 species, and might draw researchers as well as tourists.

• Public spaces: selection of Wooridongjin Architects for Magok Central Plaza

A sunken plaza reaching across the street, hopefully more open than the Coex mall patio. Now the neighborhood also needs to care about pedestrians at street level, and this diagonal canal has an interesting potential.

• Commercial and service areas: Shinsegae just signed for a new site connected to the subway. Earlier, Ehwa Hospital confirmed the move from Dongdaemun Gate to Magok.

• Residential areas: emboldened by last July's successful launches, developers started a rather off-the-wall campaign for the new residential blocks (if the visuals are deja vu, you don't often see 'stupid' splashed on the headline of a real estate ad in this town):

The 3 dumb real estate investors: the one who doesn't know Magok, the one who knows Magok but is not interested, the one who knows Magok, is interested, but doesn't buy

 

 

•  ...

The new district is step by step completing its puzzle, leveraging on key assets: Seoul intra muros, the Gimpo airport connection, the DMC-Magok-Guro triangle..., and of course major public transit infrastructures - particularly subway stations - that have been laid out first, far ahead of the inauguration (unlike for most new towns, or Sondgo IBD).

Now the most important remains to give some soul and consistence to this alleywayless place. You want to see residents and researchers venture beyond their homes and campuses, roam the streets, enjoy the city. The park and diagonal canal can give purpose, but let's not forget to optimize every single street for pedestrians and bicycles, make this neighborhood a destination from all directions, in continuity with Hangang Park, and the new neighboring communities (Banghwa, Balsan...).
 
 
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Yonsei-ro the first street in Seoul to ban cars in its transportation mix

The project has been in the air for more than a year but it's now official: Yonsei-ro, the street connecting Yonsei University with Sinchon Station, will be the first one in Seoul to ban private cars.

Only bicycles and small public buses will be allowed (not to mention of course emergency vehicles). Taxis will only be allowed between midnight and 4 A.M. Two time slots are opened for business purposes like deliveries (10-11 AM, 3-4 PM), but some adaptations are already considered, and that could turn quickly messy if no clear rules are applied. In any case, the speed limit is reduced to 30 km/h.
 
Some roadwork is planned, in particular to alleviate the usual bottlenecks along Seongsan-ro (for instance, you can tell a V.I.P. has died when there's a huge queue in front of Severance Hospital). And at the southern end of Yonsei-ro, the traffic coming from the Southeast (Baekbeom-ro) will now be able to turn directly to the left towards Seogang Bridge (Seogang-ro) at Sinchon Rotary.

Of course, congestions shall diminish even more spectacularly thanks to the newly resurrected Seobu Line (see "Seoul Light Rapid Transit Back On Tracks" and a focus I was supposed to finish Tuesday on new railway projects - coming up soon!). Reminder: the future line between Eunpyeong-gu and Gwanak-gu will pass by Sinchon Station and create a new station right in front of the university.
 
So good news for pedestrians, cyclists, and more good news for a neighborhood that badly needed some a couple of years ago (see "Sinchon reloaded - Sinchon Global Zone"**). Again, the success of a neighborhood relies a lot on the relevance of its transportation system, and if this Yonsei-ro project will probably require some fine tuning, it marks, combined with the new subway line, a move in the right direction.

Now that Sinchon seems to be regaining momentum, one can envision a more balanced dialog with Hongdae area. 


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* "버스, 자전거만 통행 가능합니다" (Seoul.go.kr 20130801)
** where I also suggested to connect the two "Sinchon Station" (Subway Line 2 and Gyeongui Line), which were less than 500 m apart. This new Yonsei University Station will be twice closer to the train station...

Bikesharing Blossom

Korea.net published an interesting focus on bikesharing services in Korea ("Bikesharing spreads in Korea" - also in French "Le partage de vélos prend de l'ampleur en Corée"), for which I was interviewed as a Parisian (2007) and Seoulite (2008) early adopter, but also as a cycling blogger*.

I'm glad to learn that services have multiplied across the nation as well as across the capital. Of course, I never expected Seoul to be covered as easily as Paris for obvious reasons: the landscape makes service continuity very hard at the geographic level, the weather at the seasonal level, but I wish the different services operated at the district ("gu") level started converging. If not geographically, at least system-wise and marketing-wise, to facilitate their diffusion.

If bikesharing services can seldom become moneymakers, they're a good investment for local authorities... who should remember they don't have to invest all by themselves: JC Decaux operates Velib' in Paris as part of a larger deal that covers public advertising space, and Paris city manages to makes money even if Velib' would cost it 60 to 85 million euros every year without advertising.

And again, one of the virtues of bikesharing systems is the trigger effect: many Parisians bought a bike after testing Velib, and that's what I did in Seoul. If many neighborhoods were bike-friendly long before 2008, Gwanghwamun area really became fully enjoyable on two wheels following the inauguration of the square.


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* see all posts related to bicycle, in particular "Public bike rental services bloom in Seoul and around"

Seoul Town Hall Meeting 2011

Seoul's 13th town hall meeting, probably the last to be held at Seosomun Annex before the inauguration of the new City Hall (on the other side of the avenue formerly known as Taepyeongno), was a great success.

Two month into his new job, Mayor Park Won-soon attended the whole meeting and confirmed his reputation by expressing empathy for everyone. He never intervened in English, but mentioned his experience abroad and (unlike yours truly) didn't need to use the translation device.

The audience (as usual international residents from all origins) was all ears, comfortably sitting at a table and enjoying a plate of fresh fruits - an echo to the hit drama of the year about free school lunches?

This meeting focused on education issues and particularly for multicultural households, in which kids often experience discrimination and bullying at school, and parents frustration - if not humiliation as sometimes highly educated people - on a daily basis.

I've often criticized the self-destructive trends in Korea's educational system, a system that evolved from equal-access and merit-based selection to today's abomination. If education drove Korea to success, it is now dragging it downwards and must be reformed to ensure the country's competitivity in a world where diversity and creativity must be encouraged, not anihiliated.

If this corrupt system is driving away Koreans from parenthood and even from the country, no wonder it's becoming a deterrent for foreigners. For every parent, there's a clock ticking and the closer their kids get to The Big Exam, the more they wish there were alternatives. We all know people who are considering moving abroad even if they would prefer to stay in Korea only because of this nonsense. What a waste: as elementary schools and universities are becoming more and more foreigner-friendly, everything seems to be made to ruin the rest.

Even more than new foreign schools, Korea needs to make sure its own people does not feel estranged from its own schools. Reforming the system will not only facilitate the integration of foreign and multicultural individuals, but the integration of all citizens into a sounder society.

Learning should always be stimulating and motivating, and I was pleased to hear that Seoul Metropolitan Government officials were about to promote extracurricular activities and sports at school.

Likewise, good news for pedestrians and bicycle riders: the city intends to continue its efforts in their favor, and will follow the same pattern as many Western countries, where pedestrians come first, then cyclists, then motor vehicles (as we speak, bicycles are treated as cars). Police authorities pledged to enforce more drastically the ban of motorcycles on sidewalks.

Seoul keeps improving because it's constantly taking into account all comments, complaints, or suggestions from its citizens, looking for answers and solutions, following up every issue. Seoul Global Center changed everything for foreign communities, reaching far beyond the usual affluent expats to the populations that need the most help. The staff and volunteers are doing a tremendous job, and thousands of members of the international community keep contributing every year with precious insights and feed back, but Seoul can thank the man who's been leading this change and enabling this cultural shift: Alan Timblick, the Head of SGC.

As the capital city, Seoul can show the way in the much needed overhaul of education, and it can leverage what has now become a model institution across the region. You too can have your say and contact the Seoul Global Center.

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2011 Town Hall Meeting Program:
. Opening (Hong Min-ji)
. Progress report (Alan Timblick)
. Opening remarks (Park Won-soon)
. Presentations: SMG Office of Education (Nam Mi-sook), Gwangjang Elementary School (Park Kyeong-a), Marriage Immigrant (Yamaguchi Hideko), Purun Citizen Community (Moon Jong-seok)
. Q&A, opinions (Jasmine Lee)
. Closing remarks (Park Won-soon)

A Dream Bridge to nowhere?

According to DongA Ilbo ("Building a landmark pedestrian bridge" - 20110720), Seoul authorities want to link Apgujeong with Seoul Forest via a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Han river.

Seongsu-dong (Seongdong-gu) and Apgujeong-dong (Gangnam-gu) are already connected through the Seongsu Bridge, but this doomed structure (it collapsed in 1994) was rebuilt at a time when humans and bicycles were not priorities. Hangang riversides have since grown parks and bike lanes, and prolonging the Jungnangcheon riversides to the South makes sense... but the operation looks like yet another gift from City Hall to Gangnam speculators.

Apgujeong marked the triumph of the 'apateu' model: the Park Chung-hee government partly sponsored the moving of part of the country's elite to the newly erected apartment blocks fourty years ago, and all of a sudden the general public, unaware of the trick, reconsidered apartment blocks as a symbol of success. Before, people saw them as soulless dwellings for the masses. The trick also radically changed the image of Gangnam, a land recently claimed over rice paddies that Gangbuk elites despised. After that, all 'nouveaux riches' started to migrate South, and all Seoulites to embrace the 'apateu' system.

Even now, Apgujeong-dong remains the epitome of Gangnam bling. Commoners, who already found it hard to swallow that these blocks had more or less privatized the accesses to Hangang riversides, reacted vehemently when the city authorized the replacement of this old generation of apartments with 50-story-high blocks (the only way owners could expect fat profits from the sale of their already bubble-blown properties). Now this: a KRW 100 bn bridge financed 50% by the city and 50% by the same local residents?

I don't see this "Dream Bridge" being built, unless there's a radical change in Apgujeong-dong redevelopment plans:
- covering Olympic Expressway
- opening the new and improved waterfront to bikes and pedestrians from all sides
- public infrastructures and mixed use of land instead of a high end residential ghetto

More likely, Seoul will find a compromise and ask for big concessions from land owners if they want to grow higher than 30 stories.

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Public bike rental services bloom in Seoul and around

It's high time we had an update about Seoul's public bicycle rental program (see "Seoul Velib'", back in 2008) : it's definitely getting more serious and official, with a really "Velib'-like" look and feel, a website (bikeseoul.com), a mobile app, and 43 stations in operation.

The concept looks very much like the original one*, which was meant to allow as many citizens as possible to ride bikes across the city, even if they can't afford one :
- you pay a very cheap subscription for a day, a week, or a year (in Paris: respectively EUR 1, 5, and 29), but Seoul also proposes 1 month and 6 month solutions (respectively KRW 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, 15,000, and 30,000).
- you're not renting a specific bike, but you have an unlimited access to special bikes which you have to pick up and drop at any of the special stations within the program
- you're not charged anything if you use it less than 30 mn each time, but you pay at least KRW 1,000 per hour beyond that point
- if you need a bike for more than 30 mn and don't want to pay, you can make a stop or change bikes at any station to get another 30 mn free
- the 24/7/365 service is fully automated with online kiosks and seamless cards
- bonus: the bicycles are much smarter and lighter than in Paris (where theft and hooliganism are unfortunately more frequent, thus the bulky shapes and the absence of screen on the vehicles), and location based services will be available.

With this concept, coverage (number of stations across the city) and availability (number of places per station) are the key factors of success. Paris proposed a very aggressive scenario for Velib's inauguration in July 2007 : 750 stations and 7500 bikes for a 105 sq km city with 300 subway stations (and the 1,000th Velib' station was inaugurated by the end of that same year !).

But Seoul is six times bigger than Paris, and even if new bikes lanes are added at a very interesting pace**, neighboroods are much less seamlessly connected (high mountains, bike-unfriendly streets, Hangang much wider than the Seine river...) : one couldn't expect the same service from day one, and since 2007 I've been thinking over the Seoul case (which probably will be solved by the same company***).

I guess the best way to proceed would be step by step, starting with major bike hubs in different districts, and to progressively connect star-shaped islands / sub-networks.

Maybe that's the way Seoul sees it. With only 43 stations clustered around Sangam and Yeouido, this programm looks less like a full launch than a trial in two areas not too remote from each other, and not too far from the Hangang riversides, Seoul's biggest network of bicycle lanes.

Another clue is the quasi absence of branding for the operation : I cannot imagine Seoul Metropolitan Government zapping this essential element of the mix, or sticking to this dull, logoless "공공 자전거" ("gonggong jajeongeo" or "Seoul City Public Bicyle")...

... Or worse: recycling Haechi, already at work for everything bikish at the municipal level - see exhibit A, from the site bike.seoul.go.kr (not to be confused with the aforementioned bikeseoul.com, or even seoulbike.com, a website for the seoul bicycle show / exhibition)...

I'm quite sure we'll see an acceleration by the end of this year, and maybe even a decent brand.

Meanwhile, you can already test the system, or other municipally sponsored bicycle rental programs in Korea, like NUBIJA in Changwon (nubija.changwon.go.kr), or FIFTEEN in Goyang (very well advertized even on major highways with the "Let's FIFTEEN!" campaign, and an iPhone app).

Seoul Village 2011

* Paris Velib', or rather its model: Velo'V (in Lyons, also in France).
** now this is starting to look like a citywide network :
*** since JCDecaux (the world leader in bike sharing with Cyclocity) operates in both capitals, I presume the company is also behind this new project.

DMZ bicycle tour, anyone ?

Following the creation of new bicycle roads along the Demilitarized Zone* and a first trial last month**, Gyeonggi Tourism Organization is organizing bike tours for tourists, starting this month.

Every fourth Sunday (already fully booked for the first edition this May), a 'peloton' of up to 300 will ride a 15 km loop around the Imjin Pavillion. Riders won't actually enter the DMZ but follow the river / Civilian Control Line, and cross the Unification Bridge on their way to Tongilchon Unification Village.

The course is expected to be extended to 25 km, and organized twice a month.

Fee : KRW 10,000 per person.
For inquiries, tel : (031) 952.7805
Apply online on GTO website : ethankyou.co.kr


Seoul Village 2010

* see "Take a ride on the wild side (Peace Bicycle Nuri Road)"
** see "Bike path at DMZ to open in September"

Tour de Korea

Last stage* for the 2010 "Tour de Corée" : tomorrow in Seoul, starting with a 5.1 km parade between Olympic Park and Mongchontoseong Station (between 9:50 and 9:59 AM).

A 49.2 km race will follow, with a finish planned at 11:04 at Sejongno Sageori, where the barnum shall pass 8 mn earlier for a loop around Gyeongbokgung and Jongmyo via Cheonghwadae, Samcheong-dong, and Jongro. Don't even think about driving your car in the area : come by subway and enjoy the show.

For the 10th edition, this finish on Sejongno mirrors Tour de France finishes on the Champs Elysees (even if in Paris, there's much more than one loop). Last year's winner came from Switzerland (Roger Beuchat).
Seoul Village 2010

* 10 stages overall :
- Jeju (177 km + 1 km parade)
- Gangjin-Yeosu (138.6 km + 4)
- Yeosu-Gunsan (219 km + 6)
- Gunsan-Dangjin (149.7 km + 1.4)
- Dangjin-Cheongju (162.2 km + 9.7)
- Cheongju-Gumi (198 km + 7.5)
- Gumi-Yeongju (144 km + 9.9)
- Yeongju-Yangyang (225.2 km + 9.5)
- Yangyang-Chuncheon (145.5 km + 9)
- Seoul (49.2 km + 5.1)

A World Cup Bridge for 2015

Just kicked off : the construction of the World Cup Bridge (월드컵대교) on the Hangang, between Mapo-gu (North) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (South), and between Seongsan Bridge (East) and Gayang Bridge (West).

This 30.7 x 1,980 m shoot will prolong Jeungsanno, a road that cut between World Cup Stadium and World Cup Park, so now you get an idea where the name of the bridge comes from.

The name of Jeungsanno comes from its mountain of origin : Jeungsan, in Jeungsan-dong, Eunpyeong-gu (it continues even further Northwards as Yeonseono). The road follows a stream, Bulgwancheon, and Subway Line 6 until Susaek Station, now the new Digital Media City. A few hectometers were added when the stadium and parc were built, but Jeungsanno stopped right in front of the Han river, waiting for a bridge to come : a big diving board hovering over the main entrance to Seoul from Incheon Airport (Gangbyeonbukno highway), and Nanji-Jigu riverside park.

On the other side, World Cup Bridge will land in Yeongdeungpo-gu in Yanghwa-dong, with a branch stretching Eastwards to Yangpyeong-dong, where traffic will merge with that from Seongsan Bridge on the way to the Seobu / Western Expressway (서부간선도로). Another branch will go Eastwards, cross Anyangcheon, and reach Gangseo-gu at Yeomchang-dong, where it will join another major axis : the road to Gimpo Airport, Gonghangno ("airport road").

If you're lost with all those gus, dongs, and cheons, the big picture :
- the World Cup Bridge will be delivered in 2015, and cost KRW 334.5 bn
- a lot of traffic will be diverted from Seongsan Bridge, easing the way from Gimpo and Incheon to the World Cup Stadium, DMC, and Eunpyeong.
- more asphalt loops and noodles ? you betcha. Cars still rule, but this new bridge does include bike lanes.


Seoul Village 2010

Riverside bicycle road extended to Hanam

On March 31, the bike road following the Southern riverside of Hangang will by prolonged Eastwards by a new 13.5 km section, completing a 49.3 km-long Goyang*-Seoul-Hanam stretch.

The new section starts from Gwangnaru recreational park (광나루 유원지) in Gwangjin-gu, passes by Amsa-dong, Gangdong-gu (famous for its prehistoric site), and reaches the Paldang Bridge (팔당대교) in Hanam.

At that bridge, you are at the feet of two mountains : Duribong (566 m) in Hanam, and Yebongsan (679 m) in Namyangju on the other side of the river. So far, these hulky patches of green have kept urban development at bay, and I hope the Gwangju-Seongnam-Hanam merger** will not ruin this area.

From this new terminus, the bike lane may continue upstream towards the Paldan Dam and beyond Yangpyeong area, a very touristic spot. It could also connect to Namyangju city, right across the bridge.

But for the moment, Gyeonggi-do has already a lot of fish to fry. The province has invested KRW 70 bn in bicycle infrastructures since 2007, and 5 other projects are about to be completed, totalling 27.1 km :
. 5.6 km in Ansan : Sihwa Industrial Complex - Seonggok-dong
. 9 km in Gimpo : Han-gang New Town - Unyang Samgeori
. 2 km in Pyeongtaek : Songbuk-dong (Ojwa Samgeori) - Seojeong-dong (Bokchang Overpass)
. 6.5 km in Dongducheon : Bosan Station - Habongam-dong
. 4.0 km in Yeoncheon-gun : Dosin-ri (Sinseo-myeon) - Yeoncheon Bridge

Of course, Gyeonggi-do (over 10,000 square kilometers) will never have a network as dense as Seoul (605 sqkm, already 10 times more bicycle infrastructures), but that's a beginning.

Of course, this is by no means a network : Ansan is far (Southwest of Seoul) and Pyeongtaek even further. But the Gimpo New Town segment may eventually join the Goyang end of the Seoul lane... and with some imagination, the last two segments almost seem to be heading towards the Peace Bicycle Nuri Road** : the Jungnangcheon bike lane in Northeast Seoul already goes along Nowon-gu and towards Uijeongbu between Bukhansan and Seoraksan, why not continue in the same direction, straight to the North ? After Uijeongbu come Yangju, Dongducheon, Yeoncheon, Chorwon... and the DMZ.

Seoul Village 2010

* at Haengju Bridge (Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do)
** see "Gwangju completes the Seongnam-Hanam merger"
*** "Take a ride on the wild side"

Map : gg.go.kr (Gyeonggi-do's website)

Take a ride on the wild side (Peace Bicycle Nuri Road)

The first 43 kilometers of the Peace Bicycle Nuri Road will open by the end of this year and by 2015, it should run sea to sea all along the DMZ, for 495 kilometers, doubling the existing leisure road and some mountain paths*.

The first 43 km will cover 3 "gun" (counties) of Gangwon-do, starting from the East :

- Goseong-gun (North of Sokcho, a county between the mountains and the East Sea, blessed with beaches, temples, lakes and hiking trails) : 7 km near the Nangman "romantic" road
- Yanggu-gun (a county mixing war scars and beautiful sceneries) : 20 km around Dutayeon (두타연), North of Dosolsan and very close to the border, deep into the mountains. Among the touristic spots : Dutayeon Pond, Dutayeon Falls, observation posts, NK Infiltration Tunnel...
- Hwacheon-gun (a mountainous county crossed by the Northern arm of the Han river) : 16km near the Peace Dam (Pyeonghwaeui Dam) over the North Hangang in Hwacheon-eup.

Eco-tourists will have a better access to Gangwon-do wonders. Of course, this first batch is not a continuous line yet : each stretch is too short to reach the next one, and to link Goseong-gun with Yanggu-gu you need to cross Inje-gun. But eventually, ambitious bikers will be able to ride all along the Demilitarized Zone, with eight stops along the way, specifically designed** to welcome them.

Bicycle infrastructure are a major concern for the MOPAS (Ministry of Public Administration and Safety), which plans to boost usage from 1.2% to 5% of the transport mix between 2009 and 2012 across the country. Bicycle paths will be expanded from 9,170 to 17,600 km and penetration rate for bicycles is expected to double from 16.6% to 30.0%.

A lot of money will be invested, and business opportunities reach beyond infrastructures and eco-tourism : until recently, the bulk of bikes were imported but local manufacturers like Samchuly keep improving and are receiving all the attention from authorities.

As China embraces the automobile age, Korea rediscovers the virtues of the "petite reine". The Pyongyang-Seoul line will probably take more time...

Seoul Village 2010

* see Korea.net ("Gov't to build bicycle path along DMZ" - 20100209)

** Please, make these as discreet and environmental friendly as possible : genuine eco-tourists don't want bike parking lots blaring the county anthem with a glass building topped with the colorful county character...

Salgotyi Bridge

Researchers from Hanyang University will dig under the pier and along the piles of Salgotyi Bridge (Salgotyi Dari / 살곶이 다리), hoping to find artifacts from the early Joseon dynasty at the very feet of their own university.

Officially called Cheongok Bridge (Cheongokgyo / 천곡교) today, this most particular structure on the Jungnangcheon links the Northern and Southern halves of Seongdong-gu.

I say "most particular" for three reasons : this bridge is unnecessarily long, drawing a diagonal instead of the shortest cut, it's a rather odd feature in a strange place, and it's a very very old fellow.
Why this odd angle ? Maybe Salgotyi is just pointing towards Bukhansan for good karma. Maybe the diagonal reduces the risks of destruction when the stream grows stronger. After all, it was built after an important junction : here, Cheonggyecheon joins Jungnangcheon, which continues Westwards along Seongsu (now home to Seoul Forest) until it reaches the Han river.

Why the strange atmosphere ? This waterway-crossroad is doubled with and almost hidden by a highway-crossroad, and tripled with a railway-crossroad - most people drive by without noticing it, trying not to miss their exits or connections.
- the Southern "riverside" is completely covered by Dongbu Expressway : eight lanes of heavy traffic along the Jungnangcheon
- to the North, Cheonggyecheon's mouth exposes a few rotten teeth (concrete blocks probably meant to break the current where both streams merge)
- until recently the stream was covered with concrete until the end, but another elevated highway was built, covering this mouth with two gigantic arms : Naebu Expressway reaching for Dongbu Expressway, one two-lane-bridge for each direction.
- the "cheek" East of Cheonggyecheon's mouth (Yongdap-dong) is a vast industrial nightmare : a subway car depot, a water treatment plant
- the Western cheek used to be basically a wasteland : the University's backyard under Sageun-dong-gil
- like a Fu Manchu mustache on this disgracious face, Subway line splits over two bridges : Seongdong Bridge for the junction between Hanyang University Station and Ttukseom Station, Jangan Railway Bridge the Songsu Station - Yongdap Station link

... and like a fragile caterpillar at the feet of giant concrete bridges with their impressive piles, a very narrow and flat bridge stretches its small legs (only one meter above the water). From a distance and given the environment, it looks like a derelict concrete structure, waiting to be removed, but Salgotyi Dari was built with stones in 1483 (14th year of King Seongjong rule). During the XXth century, floods damaged the structure and concrete add-ons, but original piles remain.

This monument is already protected, but excavations could cast a new light in this previously forsaken area. Because believe it or not, if you put aside the two expressways, the situation has dramatically improved in the area :

. First, Cheonggyecheon restoration changed the mouth of the stream, now covered with vegetation particularly on its Eastern cheek... where the water treatment plant will be replaced by a big public park.
. The "teeth" breaking the current under the elevated highway host flocks of ducks and cranes which apparently find plenty of food to fish.
. The wasteland on the Western cheek became Salgotyi Park, a small sports complex for local residents.
. New bicycles lanes are full of bikers who can ride along Cheonggyecheon up to Yongdu-dong (Dongdaemun-gu), and all along Jungnangcheon from Dobong-gu / Nowon-gu to the Hangang bike network.
. Just a few hectometers west of Salgotyi Bridge, riverside grows much wider and greener, and the lane passes at the feet of Eungbong-dong hill, with its pagoda on the top and its beautiful colors in the spring or autumn.
. ...

Of course, the overwhelming feeling remains : the place looks more like a dump than a cultural / environmental hotspot. Because Seoul did the same mistake in the early 2000s as it did thirty years before : covering the city with more highways instead of finding more sustainable ways of commuting people.

More lanes are being added up North on the same Jungnangcheon and that's a shame as Seoul must prepare to reduce the number of cars intra-muros. That's a moral and environmental obligation, but also a demographical inevitability.

Maybe there's a pattern in oblique ways to join mainstream.


Seoul Village 2009

Bike Friendly Subway Trains and Stations

Until now, only foldable bikes are allowed on subway trains in Seoul, and no bike at all during rush hours.

A few months ago, special subway wagons were announced : bicycle owners would be able to carry their vehicles on certain lines. Some seats would be removed to install bike racks in the first and last wagons of each train.

Starting this October, bikes will officially be allowed in subways on sundays and holidays, and Seoul will start testing bike friendly stations until March 2010 (see "Bike riders to travel by subway" - JoongAng Ilbo 20090818).

Asia News Agency released two interesting pictures (see "10월부터 자전거 끌고 지하철 탄다") :
- a man pushing his bike along a dedicated slope at Seokgye Station on line 6 : the slope has a thin gutter to maintain the tires in the right direction, and the carrier about 50 cm of staircase separated from the crowd by a big metal banister. it's better than carrying your bike on your shoulder but you can see him struggling... and certain stations have daunting staircases. expect many cheaters to be fined for using the elevators.
- a 3D rendering of a wagon equipped with bike racks : there's room for two bikes on each side, to lean on a simple metal structure where people can also store some luggage. not optimal but that's a start.

The Chosun Ilbo (see "10월부터 지하철에 '자전거 전용칸'") released this video of a man using the same slope, and an automated bike parking / storage service :



Here are the 38 stations selected for the trial (with the main subway line for each - many are connections) :
- Line 1 (3) : City Hall, Jongno 3-ga, Dongdaemun
- Line 2 (7) : Euljiro 1-ga, Hanyang University, Konkuk University, Seongnae, Sincheon, Seoul National University of Education, Dangsan
- Line 3 (5) : Gupabal, Oksu, Apkujeong, Maebong, Suseo
- Line 4 (5) : Nowon, Gileum, Hansung University, Dongjak, Sadang
- Line 5 (5) : Omokgyo, Yeouido, Gwanghwamun (with its new slope !), Gwangnaru, Olympic Park
- Line 6 (5) : Saejeol, World Cup Stadium, Korea University, Seokgye, Hwarangdae
- Line 7 (5) : Nowon, Junghwa, Ttukseom Resort, Naebang, Onsu
- Line 8 (3) : Mongcheontoseong, Seokchon, Songpa

Many universities and riverside bike hubs (Ttukseom, Yeouido...). And enough to study the complete bicycle... cycle.