1km Elevated Walkway Around Sewoon Sangga to Be Completed in September... "Catalyst for Local Revitalization"

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The pedestrian regeneration project around Sewoon Shopping Center, promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is expected to be completed and fully opened by September. A total of seven buildings spanning 1 km from Sewoon Shopping Center in front of Jongmyo Shrine to Jinyang Shopping Center on Toegye-ro will be connected as an elevated pedestrian walkway.

On the 18th, Seoul announced on the 17th that it will open an underground connecting passage directly linking Euljiro underground walkway and Daerim Shopping Center by Cheonggyecheon Stream. This passage connects the underground walkway between Euljiro 3-ga Station and Euljiro 4-ga Station to the basement level 1 of Daerim Shopping Center via stairs, marking the first pedestrian passage connected to the underground walkway among the seven buildings in the Sewoon Shopping Center cluster.

Following the opening of the first phase of the Sewoon Shopping Center pedestrian regeneration section (Sewoon Shopping Center~Cheonggye Shopping Center~Daerim Shopping Center), a 420m elevated pedestrian walkway opened in 2017, the city plans to open the second phase section (Daerim Shopping Center~Sampung Shopping Center~Hotel PJ~Inhyeon Shopping Center~Jinyang Shopping Center), a 580m stretch, in September.

Once the elevated pedestrian walkway is completed, a comprehensive pedestrian axis will be established, connecting the north-south historic city center attractions and the east-west city center in a three-dimensional manner. The north-south historic city center attractions start from Jongno and Jongmyo, pass through Sewoon Shopping Center, and continue on foot to Namsan. The east-west city center pedestrian axis, including the Euljiro underground walkway and Cheonggyecheon Stream promenade, will be connected both underground and above ground.

This project was promoted as part of the ‘Pedestrian Regeneration’ under the ‘Dasi·Sewoon Project,’ which aims to regenerate the aging and stagnant Sewoon Shopping Center area into a central axis for urban walking and an innovation hub for creative manufacturing industries. The ‘Dasi·Sewoon Project’ is a regeneration initiative to transform the Sewoon Shopping Center area, Korea’s first mixed-use complex town built in 1967, into a base for the 4th Industrial Revolution centered on urban manufacturing.

Seoul explained that the active cooperation of Daerim Shopping Center, participating as a resident council in the Sewoon Shopping Center area, was instrumental in opening the underground connecting passage. Daerim Shopping Center partially bore the construction costs on its own to secure space for the connecting passage within the shopping center building linked to the underground walkway.

To commemorate the opening of the underground connecting passage, merchants of Daerim Shopping Center will hold a small opening event at 2 p.m. on the 18th as part of the local resident council. The event will include congratulatory speeches from guests, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and commemorative photos. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the event will be held on a small scale while adhering to quarantine guidelines.

Ryu Hoon, Director of Urban Regeneration at Seoul City, said, “The 1 km three-dimensional pedestrian network to be completed this September is expected to serve as a catalyst for urban regeneration and regional economic revitalization in the Sewoon Shopping Center area.”