Gwanghwamun Square will drastically change … West Park, ‘two-way expansion’ on East Car

A bird’s eye view of Gwanghwamun Square. [자료 서울시]

“There are fewer people looking for him, and even residents are leaving. Now turn the square into a place with trees and flowers, and make it an area you want to visit. ”
“Making people walk instead of cars, isn’t that a global trend? In Gwanghwamun, there is no room for a comfortable stroll during lunch. ”

On the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a plan to change Gwanghwamun Square reflecting the opinions of citizens. The plaza will be wider towards the Sejong Performing Arts Center and will be reborn as a park. Of the roads on both sides of Gwanghwamun Plaza, the west road is eliminated and the east road between the Sejong-daero intersection and the Gwanghwamun section is widened.

A bird’s eye view of Gwanghwamun Square. [자료 서울시]

The city of Seoul has decided to implement a full-size pedestrianization step-by-step promotion, reflecting park-like elements, and establish a future-oriented plan covering the Gwanghwamun area as the basic direction and pursue four changes.
First, the east lane of the plaza between the Sejong-daero intersection and Gwanghwamun is extended to 7-9 lanes in both directions. Reduce traffic congestion. The city of Seoul announced that it plans to maintain the current level of travel speed through intensive management of urban traffic demand, taking into account initial concerns that the average speed of traffic around Gwanghwamun will be slow.

The road to the Sejong Performing Arts Center turns into a plaza with a park. He plans to transform it into a park-like plaza in the center of town by planting flowers and trees. Thematic shelters are also prepared in relation to the surrounding facilities. Reflecting the voices of citizens and experts concerned about the stagnation of the surrounding commercial areas and the damage to cultural property buried underground, the underground space is not being developed on a large scale, but at the level of remodeling of the current underground hatch yard.

Finally, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will expand the changes to Gwanghwamun Square to the surrounding areas to improve the general pedestrian environment around the square area, west of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon and Cheonggyecheon. By establishing a comprehensive development plan for the Gwanghwamun area that connects to Seoul Station, including Gwanghwamun and Sejongno Park, it will be reborn as a city where people can walk. This plan is expected to be reflected in the ‘Seoul Basic Urban Plan 2040’, which is currently being established.

A bird’s eye view of Gwanghwamun Square. [자료 서울시]

In order to change Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul will begin construction to widen and maintain the east lane of the square in both directions from the end of October. It is planned to be carried out in connection with the Sejong-daero Village Forest Road project process in the section between Seoul Station and Sejong-daero intersection. Furthermore, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to carry out a project to restore cultural property and reorganize surrounding areas, such as Gwanghwamun Woldae at Gyeongbokgung Palace, in cooperation with the Cultural Heritage Administration, by 2023.

Seoul City Deputy Mayor Kim Hak-jin said: “If Gwanghwamun Square is changed, Seoul will go from being vehicle-centric to people-centered, from building forests to urban forests to an eco-civilized city with vitality that can coexist with nature and prepare for disaster.

Reporter Eunkyung Choi [email protected]