“Asian Review 046” ― Seoul part7
An Elevated Walkway “Seoul-Lo 7017” near the Seoul Station
About 2 kilometer south of Seoul Plaza, just south of Namdaemun Square, there is the Seoul Station. This new building covered by glass completed in 2003 as the terminal station of the Korea Railway Corporation (KORAIL), including the Gyeongbu Line connecting Seoul and Busan. The former Seoul Station has red brick walls and a dome-shaped roof just like the Tokyo Station; no wonder, it has been built during the era of Japanese governance, the designer of which is said to be Yasushi Tsukamoto, who learned from Kingo Tatsuno. This building is preserved and regenerated as a mixed culture space “Culture Station Seoul 284” centered on exhibitions such as the history of Seoul Station.
There is a new spot named “Seoul-Lo (Seoul road) 7017” in a location overlooking the former Seoul Station. It used to be an elevated exclusive road for cars built in 1970. It was converted to a pedestrian space of 1,024 m in 2017. “Walkable Urbanism” is being advocated in the world nowadays and the Mayor Park Won Sung also intensified “Seoul’s Walkable city initiative” as a part of establishing a “new urban brand”. This project is the first step in putting it into practice.
Seoul Station is the gateway to Seoul city, which is used by an average of 390,000 people a day, however, surrounded by heavy traffic roads, the area around the station had been isolated, which brought out the delay of the development compared to the areas such as Gwanghwamun and Yongsan. Nevertheless, by “Seoul-Lo 7017”, the area has become to link nearby tourist attractions such as Sungnyemun, Seoul City Fortress Wall, Myeongdong and Namdaemun Market, and it seems that the area has begun its way to revitalization.
Certainly, I remember that the town was cluttered when I went there before, but this pedestrian deck connected the surrounding areas together. The name “Seoul Road 7017” means that the elevated road built in 1970 was reborn in 2017. Moreover, it has 17 connection roads newly connected, and has the height of 17m as well.
Although it is an outdoor pedestrian deck, there was a piano and a little girl was playing it. Is it ok if the piano gets wet from the rain?
