Seoullo 7017 (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 서울로 7017), also known as the Seoul Skygarden or Skypark, is an

elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, built atop a former highway overpass. The path, which is about one kilometer in length and lined with 24,000 plants, is similar to New York City's

High Line The High Line is a elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Opera ...

. 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. The path also improves walking times around the city's Central Station. The disused overpass closed in 2015 and cuts diagonally across

Seoul Station Seoul Station is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. Services KTX Seoul Station is the terminus of most ...

at 17m above street level. The '70' in the name comes from the year 1970 when the flyover was dedicated, while the '17' is both the number of walkways connected to it, and the year 2017. 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."

History

In the 1960s, a decade after the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, 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." 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 Cheonggyecheon ( Hangul: 청계천, ) is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development caused it to b ...

river restoration project, organized under previous mayor

Lee Myung Bak Lee Myung-bak (; ; ; born 19 December 1941) is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the 10th president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the ma ...

. The park's plans faced early controversy over fears of traffic congestion and concerns from market owners in nearby Namdaemun.

Location

The Skypark begins at Malli-dong and continues northeast past Seoul Station, ending 1,024 meters later near Namdemun at

Hoehyeon Station Hoehyeon Station is a station on the Seoul Subway Line 4. It is the closest station to the historical gate of Namdaemun, and also serves the major shopping district of Namdaemun Market. This station is located in Namchang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. S ...

. 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 Seoul Transportation Corporation, branded as Seoul Metro (Hangul: ), is a municipal-owned corporation owned by Seoul Metropolitan Government, and one of the two major operators of Seoul Metropolitan Subway with Korail. History * May 31, 2017 ...

History

Location

References

Further reading

External links

See also