Much-maligned map of Seoul's subway to get first revamp in four decades

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Much-maligned map of Seoul's subway to get first revamp in four decades

Published: 14 Sep. 2023, 18:52 Updated: 25 Dec. 2023, 14:39

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

The newly designed Seoul subway map [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The official map of Seoul's sprawling subway system has long left many residents and visitors scratching their heads.

It's easy to see why. The chart is an indecipherable maze of Byzantine complexity.

That's about to change, however.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will be replacing the subway map for the first time in 40 years, discarding the old map for what it calls a simpler design.

The city has already produced a non-finalized map after consultations with design and transportation experts.

One particular difference in the new design is the shape of the subway lines.

The new design will be based on the so-called octolinear layout, first implemented by London Underground's map in 1933. The layout is simpler and clearer, Seoul city says, with subway line No. 2 depicted as a circle at the center of the map.

Subway line No. 2 is the city's only circle line.

The number of stations on Seoul’s subway map has gradually increased from 106 in the 1980s and 338 stations in the 2000s to 623 stations along 23 subway lines currently.

The current Seoul subway map [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Despite the subway system's expansion, its map design has remained unaltered since the 1980s.

And with the city government saying at least 10 more subway lines will be added to the city’s metro system by 2025, it was time for a change.

“People have filed complaints saying that Seoul’s subway map was very difficult to read,” said Kwon Eun-sun, head of the city government's design management team.

“The current subway map is very complicated compared to any other subway map in the world. Taking people’s complaints into account and considering the future, as more subway lines will be added to the map, we decided to come up with a new design.”

The new map also improves readability in other ways.

Stations where passengers can transfer to other subway lines were previously marked with a Taegeuk mark, a Korean traditional symbol, which often confused passengers.

Instead, the updated map will show all lines to which passengers can change at transfer stations.

For instance, a total of two circles in different colors will depict Samgakji Station, as both subway lines, No. 4 and 6. pass through the station.

The map also includes geographical features such as the Han River and sea. It even marks the boundary of downtown areas.

The new map also uses thicker lines and more vivid colors for the main subway lines from No. 1 to 9, distinguishing them from transit lines such as light rails.

Both the station number and subway lines will be displayed together for each station on the map. The current map only shows station numbers.

According to the city government, passengers can read the new map faster. The city government conducted trials involving Koreans and foreigners in their 20s and 30s to see how much time they spent searching for specific stations on the map.

Search times were reduced as much as 55 percent for finding a station on the map and as much as 69 percent for navigating transfer routes.

The newly designed Seoul subway map marks both the station number and the line number for each station on the map. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The latest design is expected to benefit foreigners in particular as the trials demonstrated that foreigners spent 21.5 percent less time reading the new map than Koreans.

The participants in the experiment said it was easier to read the map since subway line No. 2 was located right at the center of the map, serving as a focal point, according to the city government.

The updated subway map will be unveiled to the public on Monday.

A final design will be announced later in the year after more consultations with experts and the public.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]