Seoul - 3.3 Expansion of Gyeongseong’s Urban Area
| Understanding Korea Series No.4 | ||
| ← Previous | Seoul | Next → |
| 2) Transformation of the Urban Space | 3) Expansion of Gyeongseong’s Urban Area | 1) Population Growth and Expansion of the Urban Center |
Yongsan changed the most during the Japanese Colonial Period. According to the treaty made with Japan after Imo Military Revolt in 1882, Yongsan was opened up as an open market, and a full-scale development started as Japan built its military base and housing for soldiers and their family in the surrounding area. It became the central hub of Korea’s transportation system that connected the whole peninsula. Gyeonginseon (Gyeongseong-Incheon Railroad Line), opened in 1900, which passed through Yongsan, and so did the lines that opened later namely Gyeongbuseon (Gyeongseong -Busan Railroad Line), Gyeonguiseon (Gyeongseong -Shinuiju Railroad Line), Gyeongwonseon (Gyeongseong-Wonsan Railroad Line), and Yongsanseon (Yongsan-Danginri Railroad Line). The Imperial Government of Japan stationed the Japanese Army near Yongsan Train Station to ensure a smoother flow of supplies and travelers. The Japanese Government General of Korea’s Railway Bureau, Railway Academy, Railway Factory and Railway Library were also all clustered around that area. After the Korean War the US Army took over the Japanese Military Base and Yongsan’s history of foreign occupation continued. Recently, the Korean government announced a general plan to convert the US Army Base in Yongsan, which is to be returned to the Korean Government in 2016, into a national park that extends to Namsan and Han River.
In 1936 the Gyeongseong City Plan was announced that in many ways is Seoul’s very first example of modern urban planning. It focused on building new urban area in the outskirts of Gyeongseong rather than improving the existing downtown area. The planned area included the existing 35.1 square kilometers of Gyeongseongbu, and 108.8 square kilometers of newly added areas comprised of lands in the east of Gyeongseong, south of Han River, and west of Gyeongseong. The city was designed as a ‘megacity’ that was almost three times the size of original city, and the expected population for the area was 700,000. Areas near the railroad lines such as Gyeongbuseon, Gyeonginseon and Gyeongwonseon were allocated as industrial areas, and other areas were set for residential purposes. The areas in the east included Cheongnyangni and Wangsimni, which were designated as light industrial and residential areas, and Hangangli was designated as an exclusive residential area. South of the Han River, Yeongdeungpo was designated as industrial area, and Noryangjin was to serve as a residential area supporting the industrial area. The west of Gyeongseong was comprised of light industrial area, Mapo-Yonggang, with attendant residential areas of Yeonhui-Shinchon and Eunpyeong. This urban plan was proposed in order to manage the urbanization process of the areas near Gyeongseong out of the Imperial Authorities’ control and to set a new spatial order that was acceptable to the Imperial Authorities. However, the proposed urban plan was not executed completely with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and the serious shortage of supplies and finances that ensued, and moreover, the people of Joseon fiercely opposed this plan.
