[The Future of Yongsan] Restarting the International Business District as a 'Three-Dimensional City' Like No Other in the World

⑤ Yongsan International Business District Sets Sail Again After 10 Years
51 Trillion Won Mega Project
Implemented by Korail and SH Corporation, Not Private Sector
Construction to Start in October Next Year, Land Sale Targeted

"The future of Yongsan is to possess the highest hierarchical international business center functions in Seoul. The Yongsan International Business District will serve as a core connecting the key functions of the three downtown areas (Gwanghwamun, Yeouido, Gangnam)." (Jahoon Koo, Professor at Hanyang University Graduate School of Urban Studies)

Aerial view of Yongsan International Business District as seen from the Han River (Source: Seoul City)

The future of Seoul depends on the Yongsan International Business District. The Yongsan Railroad Maintenance Depot is the prime land in downtown Seoul and the last large-scale development site remaining. It is 4.5 times the size of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Japan, and 2.5 times the size of COEX, where landmark office buildings up to 100 stories high, residential, and commercial facilities will be constructed. Once the international business district is completed, Yongsan, located at the center of Seoul’s three major downtown areas (Gwanghwamun, Gangnam, Yeouido), will be reborn as a new economic hub.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also pushed for the development of the international business district in 2007, but the project was canceled due to the financial crisis and has now been restarted after 10 years. Having learned from the previous failure caused by private-led development and integrated development of Seobu Ichon-dong, expectations are high that this time will be different. This mega project, with a budget of 51 trillion won, has been relaunched. This time, the project is led not by the private sector but by Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), the landowner, and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) as implementers, and Seobu Ichon-dong, which had conflicts over compensation during integrated development efforts, has been excluded from the project site.

Yongsan Reborn as an International Hub

The groundbreaking for the international business district is expected in the second half of next year. Yongsan District submitted a request for district designation to Seoul City at the end of last month, and as of mid-this month, soil contamination cleanup at the railroad maintenance depot site behind Yongsan Station is in its final stages. Seoul City will go through the Urban Planning Committee review by June to announce the district designation and development plan. Afterward, the project will enter the ‘implementation plan establishment stage,’ where detailed designs for roads and infrastructure will be drawn.

Project implementers KORAIL and SH Corporation have already commissioned a feasibility study for the implementation plan. Since traffic impact assessments and environmental impact assessments are required to obtain Seoul City’s approval for the implementation plan, it is expected to take at least one year. After the implementation plan approval is announced, construction of infrastructure such as excavation and land sales will begin. Seoul City aims to start construction and land sales by October next year. Mayor Oh’s term ends in June 2026, so time is limited.

There is also high demand for relocation from companies located in other downtown areas such as Gangnam and Yeouido. Hyundai Motor Company is establishing an R&D center near the international business district. A Seoul City official said, "Large construction companies and asset management firms are very interested, and inquiries have come from overseas investment agencies as well. Since only the development plan has been announced, companies are still reviewing it, but they are curious about how to build the sky trail connecting to the 45th floor of the international business zone building."

Yongsan has been a logistics base whenever foreign powers invaded, as it is the center of railroad transportation. Japan expropriated 510,000 pyeong (approx. 1.68 million square meters) of land for railroad use and built railroad-related facilities throughout Yongsan. The railroad maintenance depot is one of them. In 1905, the largest railroad factory on the Korean Peninsula, the ‘Yongsan Workshop,’ was established to manufacture and repair railroads, and since 1970 it has been used as a maintenance depot but is now vacant land. The routes and functions of Yongsan Station are gradually being upgraded. Currently, seven lines (Lines 1 and 4, Gyeongin and Gyeongwon Lines, Gyeongui and Jungang Lines, Honam Line, Janghang Line, Gyeongchun Line) operate, and four additional lines including the Airport Railroad extension and the GTX-B line opening in 2030 will be added.

Three-Dimensional City, Work-Residence-Leisure City... Differences from the 2007 Plan

The Yongsan International Business District is divided into the International Business Zone, Business Complex Zone, and Business Support Zone on a flat plane. Vertically, it is divided into underground, ground, and aerial city layers. The development plan separates the routes for railroads and vehicles from pedestrian routes to resolve the spatial disconnection caused by railroads.

The difference from the 2007 plan is that the center of the international business district has been placed in front of Yongsan Station. This is the ‘Green Square’ (80,000㎡), a hub where people can freely stroll or move to performance halls, exhibition centers, or commercial facilities. A cover was built over the railroad tracks to create a pedestrian space. From the third-floor platform of Yongsan Station, one can walk out to the Green Square, pass through the covered park over Gangbyeonbuk-ro, and walk all the way to the Han River. Pedestrian walkways will also be created in the air. On the podium floors 3-4 of the International Business Zone’s ground level, a podium bridge will be built, and on the 45th floor, a 1.1 km sky trail will be constructed to offer panoramic views of the Han River and Namsan.

Aerial view of Green Square as seen from Yongsan Station (Source=Seoul City)

Passing through the Green Square leads to the core location, the International Business Zone. Landmark buildings up to 100 stories high will be constructed in four blocks. The floor area ratio will be granted up to 1700%. The upper floors of buildings in the International Business Zone will house observatories and attraction facilities. This area will attract global companies and international organizations and include convention centers, hotels, and commercial facilities. The lower floors will feature a complex transfer center connecting public transportation such as buses and taxis with Yongsan Station, the Shinbundang Line, and GTX transfers. Underground pedestrian passages will connect Yongsan Station and commercial facilities.

The surrounding Business Complex Zone is divided into eight blocks, where buildings up to 80 stories high can be constructed. This zone will include new industry office facilities such as ICT, residences, and global support centers for startups. The Business Support Zone near Seobu Ichon-dong consists of five blocks and will primarily serve residential functions. Residential facilities for company employees will be located on upper floors, while educational facilities and global settlement support centers assisting foreign residents will be on lower floors.

Between the International Business Zone and the surrounding Business Complex Zone is the ‘Green Curve,’ a curved green space. It is a 40-meter-wide, 1-kilometer-long green pedestrian space placed between high-rise buildings. The Green Curve will be created as a three-dimensional pedestrian space above low-rise commercial facilities. The linear green space connecting the international business district to the outside, called the ‘Green Corridor,’ links Seobu Ichon-dong, Yongsan Electronics Market, and other areas. At the intersection where the Green Curve and Green Corridor connect, a hub called the ‘Green Cube’ will be placed, vertically connecting underground and ground levels.

Sky Trail viewed from the Work Support Zone (Source: Seoul City)

To make the Yongsan International Business District a city where ‘work-residence-leisure’ (Jikju-rak) is possible, opinions suggest expanding leisure facilities along with offices, residences, and commercial facilities. For example, the ‘Azabudai Hills’ complex development project in Minato Ward, Tokyo, Japan, enhanced urban competitiveness by placing various performance and cultural facilities throughout the area.

Heeyoon Park, Executive Director at HDC Hyundai Development Company and author of ‘Buildings that Changed Tokyo,’ said, "Azabudai Hills is a future model of a vertical green city, with the concept of a neighborhood like a plaza surrounded by nature that connects people. As we move toward complex development rather than simple building development, it is time to create a new urban model suitable for the new era discourse and aligned with global standards to achieve better living and urban competitiveness."

Unprecedented three-dimensional urban planning is also necessary. A Seoul City official said, "Above the railroad and road, there will be a ground level 18 meters high where people can walk, and a 30-meter section will have pedestrian walkways. Vehicles will move in the ground city, and people will walk in the aerial city. Currently, since three-dimensional district unit plans have not been established, KORAIL has commissioned related studies to prepare. Designation or recommended uses must be planned three-dimensionally."

Editor's NoteYongsan, which held the ‘forbidden land,’ is entering a new turning point. The Yongsan US military base, which had been off-limits to the public for over a century, has been transformed into Yongsan Park, a space for all citizens. With the presidential office relocation, it has established itself as the new center of power in South Korea, and development plans have begun in earnest. There are also ongoing demands to expand its role as a center of history and culture. Despite being prime land along the Han River connecting Namsan and the Han River in the heart of Seoul, it still contains underdeveloped residential areas. Experts say that Seoul must focus on Yongsan to enhance its global competitiveness as a city where power, business, history, and culture coexist. In that sense, Yongsan represents both the present and future of Korean cities.