Seongdong-gu Wangsimni Metropolitan Center District Unit Plan Revision

Redrawing Urban Planning Blueprint to Strengthen Metropolitan Core Functions and Revitalize Regions: Revising District Unit Plans to Respond to Changes in Plans, Policies, and Conditions... Contract Signed for District Unit Plan Revision Service on the 4th of This Month and Basic Concept Initiated, Targeting District Unit Plan Amendments by the End of 2022

Wangsimni Station Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) has initiated the reorganization of the district unit plan for the ‘Wangsimni Metropolitan Center District Unit Planning Area,’ covering approximately 218,000㎡ around Wangsimni Station, including Haengdang-dong, Doseon-dong, Hongik-dong, and Ha Wangsimni-dong.

Since the urban management plan for the jurisdiction must be comprehensively reviewed and reorganized every five years, the ‘Wangsimni Metropolitan Center District Unit Plan,’ last reorganized in 2016, has reached the time for reorganization to strengthen metropolitan center functions. In August of last year, the preliminary feasibility of the Seoul City district unit plan was approved, establishing a basis for systematic urban management planning.

In particular, due to changes in higher-level related plans such as the '2030 Seoul Plan (Seoul Basic Urban Plan),' '2030 Seoul Living Zone Plan,' and 'Seoul City District Unit Plan Management Basic Plan and Seoul City District Unit Plan Establishment Standards,' as well as changes in local conditions such as the opening (scheduled) of the light rail and the spread of development movements, the need for reorganization to prepare for future urban environmental changes has emerged.

The target area is a transportation hub with a quintuple station area where a total of five lines, including the Dongbuk Line light rail scheduled to open in 2025, pass through. It corresponds to a metropolitan center in the central system of the '2030 Seoul Plan,' making it a region requiring the establishment of an urban management plan befitting its metropolitan center status.

This project will propose development directions responding to changes in local conditions, strengthen the location of core functions such as business, commerce, culture, and tourism, manage large-scale site changes such as the expansion of Sowol Art Hall, improve the local environment, and review infrastructure management plans.

Additionally, through an accurate diagnosis of the district unit plan operated so far, it will supplement the problems of the existing plan, present the future vision of the Wangsimni station area, and establish a feasible plan tailored to local characteristics.

The district conducted a proposal evaluation in April to select a service provider and signed a contract for the district unit plan reorganization service on the 4th of this month, starting the basic concept development.

The plan aims to complete the district unit plan amendment decision by the end of 2022, drafting the plan, collecting residents’ opinions, and proceeding with procedures such as review by the Urban and Architecture Joint Committee.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Through the reorganization service of the Wangsimni Metropolitan Center District Unit Plan, we hope that the area around Wangsimni Station will be reborn as a new growth center in the northeastern part of Seoul, beyond being a residential, commercial, business, and cultural complex hub and the center of Seongdong.”