“Asian Review 049” ― Seoul part10
63 buildings in Yeouido island / D-CUBE CITY in Sindorim
Yeouido Island is a sandbank of the Han River with an area of about 2.9 square kilometers, and was used as a military airfield from the period of Japanese governance to the early 1970s. After that, it became an open space greenary and was designated as Han River citizen park Yeouido district where sports facilities and the Yeouido Saetgang Ecological Park was created. The National Assembly moved to this area In 1975 and in 1979, the Korean Stock Exchange moved from Myeong-dong. This caused many securities companies to concentrate around the area.
The “63 Building” (Formerly the Korean Life 63 Building) had started its operation in 1985, which is a high-rise office tower designed by the American design firm SOM rising up to 249 meters above the ground, almost as high as the Toranomon Hills in Tokyo. In addition to the observation deck “63 SKYDECK” which can overlook Seoul city, they have various facilities in the basement such as the aquarium “63 Sea World”, IMAX theater, “Galleria duty-free shop 63” and etc. The whole building looks golden and it is also called the “Golden Tower” which has become one of the popular landmarks in Seoul. It was the tallest building in Seoul until the Seoul International Financial Center (IFC Seoul, 285m) which opened in 2012. Moreover, Yeouido Island has headquarter of the LG Group, the Korea Broadcasting Corporation (KBS) and so on.
Further to the south, across the Han River, there is a subway station called Shindorim where the “D-CUBE CITY” is located, having been developed by Mori Building Co., Ltd. in Japan. It is a complex building that can be said to be the Korean version of Roppongi Hills, with a total floor area of 350,000 square meters. The height is 189.95m (42 floors) for the office tower, 185.6m (51 floors) for the residential tower and at the top of the office tower is the Sheraton Hotel.
In the podium from the 2nd floor to the 6th floor are commercial facilities with Hyundai department stores at its core, including a dining area with many tenants from Japan. There is also a cinema complex and a theme park featuring the popular character “Pororo”. The hall exclusively used for musicals had been created with technical support of the “Shiki Theater Company” of Japan as for the program performing aspect.
