Seoul announces plans to improve Namsan's sustainability

A rendered bird's-eye view of the anticipated gondola lifts and skywalk on Namsan in Jung District, central Seoul [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday announced its plan to build “environmentally friendly” gondola lifts on Namsan, as a part of a project to boost the area's sustainability.

The so-called Sustainable Namsan Project aims to restore the area’s ecosystem while offering facilities for people to tour and relax in, the metropolitan government said.

The project also calls for a skywalk extending from Namsan Public Library to Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden that will provide visitors with a view of central Seoul.

The 800-meter (2,624-foot) long gondola lifts will carry around 1,600 to 2,000 people every hour from Namsan Yejang Park, near Myeongdong Station, to the top of the mountain. They are expected to be completed by 2025.

Profits from the lifts will go towards projects to improve the sustainability of the area, the city government said.

The project, which has been revived after it was halted in 2016, is expected to relieve the high demand for cable cars and buses, which are the only forms of transportation via which Namsan's visitors can reach its top. An average of 8 million people visit the mountain every year.

Namsan's cable cars, run by a private company since 1962, connect Hoehyeon-dong in Jung District to its top.

Demand for shuttle buses has recently increased as all diesel tourist buses have been banned from entering Namsan Park since August 2021 due to environmental concerns. Instead, visitors are required to take electric shuttle buses from Namsan Yejang Park to enter the park.

The project will consider multiple environmental factors, with a committee that kicked off last Monday to promote the Namsan's sustainability including multiple groups of environmental activists, including members of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements.

According to the city government, the project's ultimate aim is to restore Namsan's ecosystem.

More areas on the mountain will be designated as conservation areas and management of the area, including pest control, will be done in an environmentally friendly way.

“Around one out of 44 areas of Namsan are designated as conversation sites, but these places are difficult to manage due to traffic pollution, the urban heat island effect, and climate change,” Han Bong-ho, a landscape architecture professor at the University of Seoul, who is also leading the committee under the city government to promote the sustainability project, was quoted as saying.

“We decided to expand the designation of conservation sites after concluding some buffer regions surrounding the conservation sites will be needed.”

The project will also restore habitats for different species by improving the water cycling system.

Currently, around 13 percent of the land on Namsan is covered with asphalt concrete and 70 percent does not allow water to penetrate through the surface. This will be improved by getting rid of unnecessary asphalt-packed roads or repacking them to allow for water penetration.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]