Seoul - 4.3 New Development of Gangnam
The development of Gangnam was inaugurated simultaneously with the opening of the Hangang Bridge No. 3, Hannam Bridge, which connected Gangbuk and Gangnam, and the Gyeongbu Expressway (Seoul to Busan). The land price of Yeongdong, a quiet rustic village at the time, started going up as the construction of the Hangang Bridge No. 3 began in 1966. “Mrs. Speculators” with massive amounts of cash together with real estate agents fanned the increase of the land price. The real estate agents formed a village in Maljukgeori, the starting point of the Gyeongbu Expressway, so the real estate price explosion phenomenon is called “the Legend of Maljukgeori.” The city government, which was running short on funds for the Gangnam New Town Construction, embarked on land readjustment projects that involved approximately 25,800,000 square meters of land. These included Yeongdong District 1 (current Seocho District) around the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1968 and Apgujeong and Sinsa of Yeongdong District 2 (current Gangnam District) from 1971. The only way the public sector was involved in the development process of Gangnam was the land development plan. The urban development project and construction of the urban infrastructure depended heavily on private funds. Consequently, more than what could be considered reasonable of the profit from this development was distributed to private funds, and these funds were channeled back to feed the real estate speculation thus contributing to the distorted urban development.
Some areas within the 8 districts around the shores of Han River including Apgujeong, Jamsil, Banpo and Yeouido were developed as the Apartment Districts, which were reserved exclusively for apartment buildings from 1975 to 1983. During the 1980s the development of Gangnam was primarily completed with the end of the land readjustment projects in Yangjae and Isu Districts, the housing development project in Gaepo, Umyeon and Suseo, and the small-scale residential site development project of Yeongok, Sinwon and Naegok. The number of apartment units built in Gangnam between 1975 and 1979 was 17,108; most notably, 4,761 units were built in Apgujeong-dong and 6,148 in Daechi-dong. More of the large-scale apartment complexes were built in Apgujeong-dong, Daechi-dong and Gaepo-dong between 1981 and 1985, in the total of 40,319 units. According to a 1985 report, out of all residential units in Seoul only 26.5% were apartments, but in Gangnam out of total 137,335 residential units, 99,830 units, more than 70%, were apartments. This report firmly reinforces Gangnam’s image as the city of apartments.
Gangnam was not self-sustainable during its early period and relied on the Gangbuk urban center for political, economic and cultural needs. However the sluggish development of Gangnam gained momentum once several prestigious high schools, the courthouse and other public institutions relocated from Jongno and Jung district. The relocation of prestigious high schools in particular created a synergy effect: areas with good school districts were considered rich residential areas due to Korea’s fervor for education. Stimulation of commercial activities around the areas followed .
Gangnam’s image is tied to apartments, but the proportion of low-rise buildings such as multiplex housings, multi-household housings and single-family housings was relatively high up until the 1990s. In the 2000s the residential buildings erected in the 70’s and 80’s began to age, and large-scale construction companies built super high-rise apartments with luxurious brand names and skyscrapers in the reconstruction process. As a result the luxurious apartments were established as the main residence type in Gangnam.
