The area around Sewoon Sangga as seen from above. Source: Seoul Museum of History, http://www.museum.seoul.kr/
Green Belt Park on the former Hyundai Arcade. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government (2015),
Seoul 2014/2015 Urban Form and Landscape, p. 119
Aerial view of E-Scape’s winning design concept to regenerate Sewoon Sangga. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government (2015), http://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/880067
The exterior pedestrian deck at Sewoon Sangga.Source: Seoul Museum of History, http://www.museum.seoul.kr/
Pedestrian deck and atrium on the 3rd floor inside Sewoon
Sangga.Source: Seoul Museum of History, http://www.museum.seoul.kr/
Aerial view of Sewoon-Cheonggye mid-air pedestrian bridge. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government,
http://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/955872/
Pedestrian deck and atrium on the 3rd floor inside Sewoon
Sangga. Source: Seoul Metropolitan
Government, http://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/955872
Aerial view of Dasi Sewoon
Square. Source: Seoul
Metropolitan Government,
http://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/
archives/955872
Mid-air view of the second- and third-floor decks at Sewoon Sangga. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government (2016), http://spp.seoul.go.kr/main/news/news_report.
jsp?search_boardId=26236&act=VIEW&boardId=26236
Content by Seoul Institute
Seoul’s bold efforts in transforming highways and main roads into public
spaces for people and its creative rejuvenation of modern heritage were
two reasons why it clinched the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize 2018. The
city’s Makercity Sewoon project showcases how top-down and bottom-up
approaches helped rehabilitation seven commercial superblocks into a vibrant
space for the people.
The rise and fall of a commercial hub
First built in 1966 as a large-scale remodelling project, Sewoon Sangga (or
Sewoon Shopping Mall) connects Jongmyo Shrine and the Nam Mountain.
The name commonly refers to the stretch of eight buildings—Hyundai Arcade
(currently removed), Sewoon Arcade, Cheonggye Arcade, Dalim Arcade,
Sampoong Arcade, Poongjeon Hotel, Shinseong Arcade, and Jinyang Arcade—
which are each 8-17 floors high, and together, stretch 1 km from south to
north along the street.
When first completed, Sewoon Sangga introduced many ground-breaking
concepts, including being the country’s first multi-purpose building.
Pedestrians and cars were separated on the ground level, and there was a pedestrian deck of continuous shopping malls, and an atrium. It was planned
to induce shared growth in a part of the city that had stagnated and was
deteriorating. The arcade formed a central commercial hub in Seoul and was
known to offer the most luxurious apartments in the city. Sewoon Sangga was
also a Mecca for electronic products and sound systems. This changed from
the early 1970s as the development of Gangnam saw commerce shift to the
Myeongdong area. In 1977, the electric and electronic businesses were also
designated to be moved, eventually ending up in Yongsan Electronics Market
in 1987. By the early 1990s, Sewoon’s commercial supremacy had collapsed.
However, the area remained an excellent location for manufacturing-based
businesses, and was home to industries such as printing & publishing,
jewellery, medical and fashion. As it connects Jongmyo Shrine and Nam
Mountain, Sewoon Sangga had the potential to expand the vitality of the city
to the peripheries too. As the buildings in the area also had huge historic and
cultural potential, attracting interest even from foreigners, it was attractive to
preserve the existing structure.
Between Preservation and Demolition
Discussions on redeveloping Sewoon started as early as 1979 with the
relocation of the electric and electronics businesses. The Seoul Metropolitan
Government considered “full-scale redevelopment after demolition” as part
of a South-North Green Zone development plan to connect Jongmyo Shrine
and Nam Mountain. However, residents felt that such a development would
increase their financial burden and there were conflicts between the Sewoon
Sangga group and residents of the nearby areas. Discussions dragged on for
years, and with the depressed real estate market in the late 1990s, none of
the plans were realised. In 2003, the Cheonggye Stream Restoration Project
revived discussions on reorganising the spatial structure of the city, resulting in strong support for the South-North Green Zone development project
again. As a result, the Hyundai Arcade was removed in 2008 to develop the
Sewoon Green Belt Park as part of the Urban Environment Maintenance
Project. However, the original plan of developing the South-North Green
Zone from Jongmyo Shrine to Nam Mountain did not proceed as planned.
To draw up detailed regeneration proposal
for Sewoon Sangga, theSeoul Metropolitan
Government consulted the public
extensively on its plan to focus on the
“creative culture industry”.
In the fifth and sixth elections for the Mayor of Seoul, the future of Sewoon
became a hot topic. There was support for preservation rather than
removal, echoing similar controversies that continued for decades over the
New Town Development Project in Seoul and the Seoul Station Overpass
Project. Many of the discussions were about maintaining Sewoon Sangga’s
ecosystem of urban industries, respecting the historic and cultural
centre of the Fortress Wall of Seoul, reducing the excessive burden of
redevelopment on residents and creating a more pedestrian-friendly city.
This resulted in the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announcing
its Sewoon Sangga Regeneration Project in February 2015.
Transforming Sewoon into a Home for Creatives
To draw up detailed regeneration proposal for Sewoon Sangga, the
Seoul Metropolitan Government consulted the public extensively on its
plan to focus on the “creative culture industry”. The government held
270 interviews, gathered artists together on 18occasions, sought advice
from culture and art planners 15 times and made 17 presentations to
residents to hear their opinions. This gathering of feedback from residents
continues up till today. In addition, the government organised a five-day
BBP Conference, 29 Sewoon Forums and 25 expert advisory committee
meetings to hear from different fields. Various experimental programmes,
such as “Sewoon Arcade is a University”, “Imagination Factory”, “Steve J &
Yoni P Fashion Show”, and “Uljiro Light Way”, were organised to increase
interest in the area and to gather opinions from various fields and classes.
Amidst these discussions, the Seoul Metropolitan Government also held
an international design competition for Sewoon Sangga in February 2015.
The winning “Modern Vernacular” concept design by Environmental Scape
Architects (E-Scape) was finalised in December 2015 with the input of
an expert design advisory group and after a presentation given to the
residents. The design was to be built in two sections, with the first stage
slated to be completed in May 2017.
Making of "Sewoon again"
The regeneration plan sought to maintain Sewoon Sangga and induce
progressive and customised maintenance that respects the existing
community. Other key goals included maintaining the existing urban
industries, discovering new growth engines and activating the peripheral
area by cultivating an industry linked with culture and tourism. This develops
a foundation to revitalise urban life in the area with cultural events,
residences and the development of a start-up incubation centre. There are
also plans to develop Sewoon Sangga into an urban creative and innovative
centre through connecting with its industrial heritage.
In addition, a pedestrian network will connect various commercial buildings
in Sewoon Sangga, and Cheonggye Arcade will be developed to connect the
pedestrian streets in the city. This will add significant vitality to the city by
enabling the population in Jongmyo Shrine / Jongno / Cheonggye Stream /
Euljiro and Toegye-ro / Nam Mountain to use Sewoon Sangga to easily move
from south to north and east to west.
The sloped square (Dasi Sewoon Square) will be modified to directly connect
the existing Sewoon Green Belt Park (constructed in 2009) with the mid-air
pedestrian road in the building group. A double-width crosswalk will also be
installed between the Square and Jongmyo Shrine to continue the pedestrian
network that connects Jongmyo Shrine, Jongno and Dasi Sewoon Square.
The pedestrian bridge between Sewoon–Dalim Arcade that was disconnected
during the Cheonggye Stream Restoration Project in 2005 will be reconnected
to support the natural flow of the population between the stream and
arcade. The Dalim Arcade and the Uljiro Underground Arcade will also be
connected with escalators and elevators.
A mid-air pedestrian deck at Sewoon Sangga will also be constructed on the
second floor, while between the second and third floors, about 30 container
boxes will serve as exhibition halls. The pedestrian deck on the third floor will
be repaired to improve safety, and it will be filled with attractions.
The Impact of Sewoon’s Transformation
The development of the Sewoon Sangga Pedestrian Network will connect
Jongmyo Shrine, Jongno, Cheonggye Stream, Uljiro and Nam Mountain with
a large pedestrian street. This will greatly increase economic activity and is
expected to be an unprecedented case of pedestrian regeneration in Seoul.
Through the Cheonggye Stream Pedestrian Street and continuous
improvement of the pedestrian environment in the city, it is expected that the
Myeongdong area in the west and the Dongdaemun Shopping district in the
east will be connected centrally to the Sewoon Sangga Pedestrian Network.
This will greatly improve dynamism in the city.
Transforming Sewoon Sangga into a creative manufacturing hub will bring
it new life and crowds as in the 1970s and 1980s. It is expected to become a
sustainable model of business and one of the city’s main attractions.
Regeneration Without Demolition
After over 35 years of discussion, the plan for the Sewoon Sangga has
changed from “redevelopment after demolition” to “regeneration on the
premise of preservation”. This was finally initiated in 2016 as the Sewoon
Again Regeneration Project.
This shift was enabled by the determination of the Mayor and the Seoul
Metropolitan Government to create a more pedestrian-friendly city. The
government also made a continuous effort to promote the benefits of the
project to local residents, merchants and organisations, as well as to listen
closely to the opinions of different experts and the general public. Thus, a
consensus was formed with the people.
Once this project is completed, the entire city will have more attractions
and the connection of pedestrian streets will greatly increase its dynamism.
Alongside the High-line Park development project on the Seoul Station
Overpass, the Sewoon Again Regeneration Project will be long remembered
as an example of urban regeneration that made the city more pedestrianfriendly.
About the Seoul Institute
The Seoul Institute analyses major challenges that face the city. As a think-tank for
the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it plans for the city’s future through studies of
various current policies along with establishing mid- and long-term visions for Seoul.
Funded by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Institute was established
as a comprehensive policy institute in 1992. It has systematically studied problems
in various disciplines such as urban planning and design, housing, transportation,
environment, safety and control, industrial economy, administration and finance,
social policy, welfare, health, cultural tourism, gender and family, and education.
Since these areas influence the lives of the city’s residents, viable policy alternatives
are critical. While Seoul, as the capital of Korea, has been an icon of compressed growth
in modern times, it now needs to become a city of social responsibility with a clean
environment and a unique culture. We propose policy alternatives to improve life in
qualitative terms, instead of simply quantitative indicators of urban growth. The
Seoul Institute also conducts research on urban infrastructure for citizens of Seoul.
About the CLC
The Centre for Liveable Cities was set up in 2008 by the Ministry of National Development
and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, based on a strategic blueprint
developed by Singapore’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development. Guided
by its mission to distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities, the
Centre’s work spans four main areas - Research, Capability Development, Knowledge
Platforms and Advisory. For more information, please visit us at http://www.clc.gov.sg