Seoullo 7017
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Short description|Elevated park in Seoul, South Korea}}
{{Infobox park
| name = Seoullo 7017
| image = Seoullo 7017 Overview (5).jpg
| image_caption = The park, on top of the bridge structure (2017)
| location = Seoul, South Korea
| coordinates = {{Coord|37.556978|126.974766|display=inline,title}}
| transport = Subway Line 1/4/Gyeongui-Jungang Line/AREX, Seoul Station, Exits Exit 7
| mapframe-zoom = 13
}}
Seoullo 7017 ({{Korean|hangul=서울로 7017}}), also known as the Seoul Skygarden or Skypark, is an elevated linear park in Seoul, built atop a former highway overpass (Seoul Station Overpass, {{Korean|hangul=서울역고가도로}} {{Lang|ko|서울역고가도로}}). The path, which is about {{Convert|1|km}} in length and lined with 24,000 plants, is similar to New York City's High Line. Skygarden was designed by MVRDV, a Dutch firm, and opened in May 2017. In the future, the park may become an urban nursery, growing trees and plants for replanting elsewhere in the city.{{Cite web |last1=Zorthian |first1=Julia |title=Seoul's Garden In the Sky |work=Time |url=https://time.com/4800807/seouls-garden-in-the-sky/ |date=1 June 2017 |access-date=14 August 2017 }} The path also improves walking times around Seoul Station.{{Cite news |last1=Rule |first1=Dan |title=Seoul Skygarden set to rival New York's High Line |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 May 2015 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/seoul-skygarden-set-to-rival-new-yorks-high-line-20150514-gh1fpe.html }}
The disused overpass closed in 2015 and cuts diagonally across Seoul Station at {{Convert|17|m}} above street level.{{Cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/say-hello-to-new-sky-park-seoullo|title=Say hello to Seoul's new sky park|last=hermes|date=20 May 2017|work=The Straits Times|access-date=21 May 2017|language=en}} The "70" in the name comes from 1970, the year the flyover was dedicated, while the "17" is a reference to both the number of walkways connected to it and the year 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/04/281_228309.html|title=[Provincial News] Seoullo 7017, overpass-turned-park, to open in May|date=26 April 2017|work=The Korea Times|access-date=21 May 2017|language=en}} The park includes gardens, terraces, and exhibitions, and will "feature over 24,085 plants representing 228 species of trees, shrubs and flowers found in and outside Korea."{{Cite news|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170425000842|title=Seoul unveils city's first highway-turned-park|date=25 April 2017|access-date=21 May 2017|language=en}}
History
In the 1960s, a decade after the Korean War, Seoul planners "ordered the construction of dozens of elevated highways to keep traffic flowing through the capital. Fast forward a few decades, and these hulking overpasses became not only a blight on the landscape, but also a safety risk."{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/seoul-a-city-with-no-soulbuilds-its-own-high-line-on-an-old-overpass/2017/05/14/6b398ae6-3684-11e7-ab03-aa29f656f13e_story.html|title=Seoul, a city 'with no soul,' builds its own High Line on an old overpass|website=Washington Post|access-date=21 May 2017}} As the overpasses were gradually removed, city planners decided to re-purpose some as pedestrian green spaces in the crowded urban city. Seoul mayor Park Won-soon pushed for the US$52 million skypark to be completed as a complement to Seoul's Cheonggyecheon river restoration project, organized under previous mayor Lee Myung Bak.
The park's plans faced early controversy over fears of traffic congestion and concerns from market owners in nearby Namdaemun.
Location
File:Seoullo 7017 night time city lights.jpg
The Skypark begins at Malli-dong and continues northeast past Seoul Station, ending 1,024 meters later near Namdemun at Hoehyeon Station. The park is visible from Seoul Station but the nearest stairway is across the street from the front of the station, or subway exit 1 of the Seoul Metro.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Seoullo 7017}}
- {{Cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Rowan |title=A garden bridge that works: how Seoul succeeded where London failed |work=The Guardian |date=19 May 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/19/seoul-skygarden-south-korea-london-garden-bridge |issn=0261-3077 }}
- {{Cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Francesca |title=Seoul's Skygarden: the High Line of South Korea? |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/15/seoul-skygarden-high-line-south-korea |issn=0261-3077 }}
- {{Cite web |last1=Street |first1=Francesca |title=This urban 'sky garden' could revolutionize Seoul |work=CNNMoney |date=8 August 2016 |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/08/technology/seoul-skygarden/index.html |accessdate=14 August 2017 }}
{{Seoul parks}}