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Seoul will connect the Gwanghwamun Plaza area and the highway in front of the Sejong Center to form a ‘Plaza Hug Park’, and the highway on the east side of Gwanghwamun Plaza will be extended to 7 ~ 9 lanes in both directions. It contains the same contents as the ‘Gwanghwamun Square Promotion Directorate’, which was announced in February this year after collecting opinions from citizens. The east side highway expansion project will begin in earnest next month, with the goal of completion early next year. On the 27th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced these details and released a panoramic view of Gwanghwamun Square.
Specifically, Gwanghwamun Square expands into the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and contains park-like elements. The east lane of the ‘Sejong-daero Intersection ~ Gwanghwamun’ section is extended to 7 ~ 9 lanes and adjusted, and a walking distance of about 2.6 km from Seoul Station to Gwanghwamun is completed by connecting with Sejong- daero People Forest Road. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “By creating a pedestrian environment in the Gwanghwamun area in relation to Sajik-dong, Cheongunhyoja-dong and Samcheong-dong, the accessibility of the square will be improved, which will have the effect of influencing on visitors and revitalize the surrounding area. “
The Seoul Metropolitan Government previously collected the opinions of 12,115 citizens 61 times online and offline from September last year to the end of the year and reflected the improvement plan for Gwanghwamun Square. There are four main plans that will be implemented this time.
First, Sajik-ro maintains its current role in order to minimize civil unrest due to the intensification of traffic congestion, and widens and adjusts the lane east of the plaza in the section of ‘Sejong-daero Intersection ~ Gwanghwamun ‘to 7 ~ 9 lanes in both directions. The traffic measures near the square were confirmed through consultations with neighbors and related organizations such as the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the Administration of Cultural Heritage and various preliminary deliberation procedures after the announcement of the results of the civil communication in February.
In February of this year, in the direction of the measures announced when gathering the opinion of the citizens, the plan to reduce the existing road from 10 lanes to 6 lanes was included, but it was partially revised to expand. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, “Construction is scheduled to begin from next month and construction will be completed after construction completion as it is being carried out in connection with the construction of People Forest Road. “.
Second, the road on the west side of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts will be created as a “plaza containing a park.” It means that it will be like a park by planting flowers and trees with different changes in the four seasons. However, the construction of the project will take place after the project is completed to discover cultural assets in this area.
Next, the underground space is not developed on a large scale, but at the level of redevelopment of the hatch yard located underground. The voices of citizens and experts concerned about the damage to cultural property in the underground shops were reflected, and the policy is to improve the quality of services by focusing on multipurpose facilities such as the improvement of bathrooms.
Finally, the city of Seoul announced that it will improve the general pedestrian environment around the square area, such as the west side of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon and Cheonggyecheon, to create a ‘good city for walking’. Along with this, the ‘Gwanghwamun Area Comprehensive Development Plan’ will be established, which will connect with Seoul Station, including Gwanghwamun ~ Uijeong ~ Sejongno Park.
To this end, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the road adjustment on the east side of the square and the construction of the widening of the square to the west will be carried out sequentially so that there are no traffic difficulties. vehicular. After the east lane maintenance is completed, a detailed excavation of the cultural properties in the west lane is carried out.
On the other hand, the project ‘Restoration of cultural property and surroundings’ jointly promoted by the Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Seoul Metropolitan Government will be carried out in stages in connection with the change of the square. Woldae in Gwanghwamun will proceed with the necessary administrative procedures in advance, such as consultations with related agencies in the first half of next year, within the scope of maintaining the flow of traffic, such as maintaining the function of the resignation route. Through detailed excavations in the second half of next year, the restoration of cultural property such as Woldae and the surrounding maintenance will begin in 2023.
