Category: Seoul

I am not against the upcoming ban, but I don’t think it is going to do much to clean up air pollution when so much of it is rolling in over Korea from China and their government doesn’t care:

Grade 4 diesel vehicles, the second-lowest in the country’s five-tier emissions standard, will be banned from Seoul’s central areas starting 2025.  
   
In addition, village buses, delivery motorbikes and trucks will all go electric by 2026.  
   
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled a comprehensive plan to improve air quality of his megacity dubbed Clearer Seoul 2030 on Wednesday. It’s a major part of the Korean capital’s ambition to be one of the top 10 greenest cities in the world. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

More and more people are discovering the shanty town adjacent to the posh Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul:

Jason Basulto, a 27-year-old American tourist, visited Guryong Village, one of the last remaining shanty towns in Seoul, in April this year. He had been curious about Seoul’s not-so-shiny side, like the semi-basement homes featured in “Parasite.”

“Urban slums are visible not only in Korea, but in many other countries, because the wealth gap is a global issue. But the scenery of Guryong Village in the middle of high buildings was striking,” he said.

For those who are interested in social issues, the village could be an interesting place to visit, he added.

It appears so.

On YouTube, there are a number of videos that take viewers on a virtual tour of the village, where rows of ragged shacks stand in contrast to gleaming, high-rise apartment complexes just across the road.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

To me this huge ferris wheel will just be an eye sore, there is plenty of places to go in Seoul to take in the views without this ferris wheel:

To put Seoul on a par with New York City, London, and Paris, Mayor Oh Se-hoon has some lofty ambitions. One is the world’s tallest Ferris wheel offering views over the Han River.  
   
Oh thinks the Korean capital can become one of the top five global cities. His rallying slogan for the vision doesn’t translate into very stirring English — “Attractive Seoul”— but it’s behind some very big goals. One is to attract 30 million tourists a year from across the globe. Another is to draw investors from cutting edge industries and create a new Silicon Valley in Asia.  
   
In early August, the Seoul city government announced a project called the Great Sunset Han River, which includes tourist attractions to be built such as large floating stages and waterfront sculptures. One will be the world’s tallest observation wheel, larger than the London Eye or the Singapore Flyer. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but as the article points out the slogan of “Attractive Seoul” does not have good ring to it in English. With that said it is still better than “I Seoul U” which makes no sense.

Another example of Seoul slowly getting back to normal:

 Sexual minorities in South Korea held an annual festival in downtown Seoul on Saturday after a pandemic-driven two-year hiatus, with Christian and other conservative groups opposing the high-profile event.

The 23rd Seoul Queer Culture Festival took place at Seoul Plaza, bringing together members of the LGBTQ community — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons — as well as their supporters and human rights activists.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As predicted it seems like less and less of Yongsan Garrison will become a park:

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is planning to convert part of a U.S. Forces Korea base adjacent to the new presidential office in Yongsan into a cultural space reminiscent of a “Little LA” and open it to the public in September, officials said Sunday.

The 500,000-square-meter space is just outside the defense ministry headquarters, which is being converted into the new presidential office.

The USFK plans to return the land to the South Korean government at the end of this month as part of its ongoing relocation to Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

“We plan to let the people see it in its exotic state as much as possible,” an official involved in the project told Yonhap News Agency, noting the area features various religious, educational and sports facilities used by the USFK.

More facilities could be added, such as cafes and exhibition or concert halls, to evoke a sense of “America Town” or “Little LA.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I guess using this portion of Yongsan to create this “Little LA” area is better than just putting up more apartment buildings. Any predictions on how much of the old Yongsan Garrison actually becomes a city park?

Showing the colors of the Ukrainian flag is now the international version of virtue signaling:

 Iconic landmarks across Seoul were lit up in the colors of the Ukrainian flag Sunday in support of the Eastern European nation under siege amid the Russian assault.

N Seoul Tower on Mount Namsan, Seoul City Hall, Sebitseom on the Han River and Seoullo Media Canvas glowed blue and yellow Sunday evening.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Seoul is such an incredible city that I can’t blame Koreans for wanting to live there. However, there are plenty of other great cities in Korea as well that hopefully Koreans start moving back to. Having so many people concentrated near the DMZ just further feeds into the strategic advantage North Korea has:

With an influx of people from all over the country, the number of residents in the Seoul metropolitan region ― including Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province ― surpassed 50 percent of the nation’s total population for the first time ever last year, even though the region occupies only 11.8 percent of the country’s total land. The extremely high concentration of the population in Korea’s capital area contrasts with those of the U.K. at 12.5 percent, France at 18.8 percent and Japan at 28 percent. 

Other parts of the country, meanwhile, are collapsing. The government recently designated 89 out of the 228 cities, counties and districts around the country as areas facing the risk of “extinction.” 

The collapse of local towns is also negatively affecting the quality of life in Seoul.

“The contraction of local towns accelerates the population concentration in the capital area, resulting in soaring housing prices and a lack of jobs. It will in turn pull down the birthrate in the capital area, accelerating the population decrease of the country as a whole,” said Kim Hyeon-ho, a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.