Seoul Arena Construction Begins! Dobong-gu Growth Expectations at All-Time High
Oh Eon-seok, Dobong-gu Mayor, Attends Seoul Arena Groundbreaking Ceremony: "District Administration Focused on Rapid Completion of Seoul Arena"
The ultra-large-scale performance venue 'Seoul Arena,' capable of accommodating up to 28,000 spectators, will be established in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu.
Seoul Arena, which began construction on November 30 last year, is scheduled to be completed in March 2027 after a 40-month construction period.
Seoul Arena is the largest K-POP performance hall in Korea, built on approximately 50,000㎡ of land in the Chang-dong area of Dobong-gu, with two basement floors and six above-ground floors. Equipped with world-class performance infrastructure, it is expected to provide rapid and convenient production of performances and a high-quality viewing environment.
On July 2, the groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Seoul Arena Complex Cultural Facility Private Investment Project' was held at the planned site of Seoul Arena (1-23 Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul). The project attracted much attention due to the various challenges faced before construction began.
Kakao established the project implementation corporation, 'Seoul Arena Co., Ltd.,' in June 2022 and started construction last November. The groundbreaking ceremony was initially planned for December of the same year but was postponed due to internal circumstances at Kakao.
Since announcing the project plan in February 2015, the Seoul Metropolitan Government completed the private investment project feasibility study by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) in December 2018. In April 2022, Seoul City and Kakao signed an implementation agreement, and last November, they obtained the implementation plan approval and building permits.
Seoul Arena is a complex cultural space where the Seoul Metropolitan Government provides the site, and Seoul Arena Co., Ltd. is responsible for facility construction, operation, and maintenance. It will include a K-POP-centered music performance hall with 18,269 seats capable of accommodating up to 28,000 spectators simultaneously, a medium-sized performance hall with up to 7,000 seats, a cinema, and commercial facilities.
Combined with the various cultural industry infrastructures that Dobong-gu has built in Chang-dong, it is expected that Chang-dong will advance to become a cultural city where cultural consumption, production, and distribution occur simultaneously.
Especially considering the current subway lines 1 and 4 passing through Chang-dong, the planned GTX-C line, and the undergrounding of the Dongbu Expressway, the economic impact resulting from the construction of Seoul Arena is expected to be tremendous.
A Dobong-gu official stated, "With the full-scale commencement of Seoul Arena construction, the district has established a dedicated organization to comprehensively promote Dobong-gu's future strategic projects. We plan to systematically carry out tasks so that large-scale development projects in the Chang-dong area, including the Chang-dong Complex Private Investment Station, Chang-dong Station Complex Transfer Center, and Nonghyup Hanaro Club site complex distribution center, centered around the arena, can serve as a foundation for regional revitalization."
About 250 people, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Kakao CEO Jeong Sin-ah, Dobong-gu Mayor Oh Eon-seok, and local residents, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Seoul Arena, the project implementer, expressed its ambitious aspiration to lead the growth of the domestic music market by creating new demand and developing new content, establishing a virtuous cycle structure that expands the performance market, and strengthening the global status of K-POP.
Mayor Oh Eon-seok said, "I can already see the lively image of Dobong-gu bustling with young people who love music and culture and workers in related industries. We will support the construction of Seoul Arena as soon as possible." He added, "Together with Seoul Arena, we will definitely achieve a virtuous cycle where people gather in the area and related industries develop," expressing his aspirations.
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