[Yongsan's Future] "Urban Planning, Soft Content Is Important"

Vice Chair Kim Sun-ah's Aim, Inductive
Approach to 'Micro Urbanism'
Soft Content, User-Based Design
'Variability' Also Key for Future Generations

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

Kim Seon-ah, Vice President of the Korea Urban Planners Association and CEO of Spacing Engineering Architecture Office, pursues the concept of "Micro Urbanism" in urban planning. Regarding the somewhat unfamiliar concept of Micro Urbanism, Kim described it as "in short, an 'inductive' approach."

Micro Urbanism is the exact opposite of the traditional urban planning and structure that progresses "from large to small." It is a method that goes "from small to large." Kim explained, "Until now, the approach was to create large spatial structures, plan road networks and transportation, and then move to smaller scales. Now, urbanization has been completed worldwide. What we can do in this era is to start from 'soft content' such as user demand and lifestyle, and then plan the physical elements."

Vice President of the Korean Urban Planners Association, Kim Seon-ah, CEO of Spacing Engineering Architecture Office Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

In Yongsan's development, Kim emphasized that soft content must be prioritized. He said, "With large vacant land emerging, how to fill it ultimately involves considering who will live there in the future and what content should be included. To convince citizens, future demand must be predicted."

In this context, Kim's idea is to leave "reserved land for the future" in the developing spaces. This is because the world is changing so rapidly that predicting the near future is difficult. Kim stated, "The future will change even faster, and I have serious doubts about how much of that is reflected in current urban planning. Since we need to create cities suitable for future generations, we should not develop everything at once but leave uncertain areas undeveloped."

Furthermore, Kim sees "flexibility" as the core of future spaces. Spaces that are not fixed but can be transformed will likely see increased demand in a rapidly changing future. Kim suggested, "In central business districts (CBDs), for example, the area becomes empty after work hours, yet tenants sign 24-hour contracts. If we flexibly imagine how to use the remaining time and space, increasing the floor area ratio might not even be necessary."

Kim believes that these values, combined with Seoul's dynamism, can create synergy for its emergence as an international city. He said, "At one time, Seoul's dynamism and flexible adaptability were seen as drawbacks, but the flexible Seoul of today perfectly fits 21st-century trends. We should leverage this as an advantage and move forward in a leading direction."