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Korea's incinerator makeover turns 'eyesores' into attractions with pools, saunas and restaurants

Published: 28 Dec. 2025, 12:06

The city of Seosan in South Chungcheong opens its state-of-the-art waste recovery facility in Yangdae-dong on Dec. 2. [SEOSAN CITY]

Korea's waste incinerators are undergoing dramatic makeovers as local governments aim to turn what citizens once called smelly and unsightly into environmentally friendly tourist and leisure attractions.

Complete with pools, saunas, adventure slides and observation decks, these once-avoided sites are being transformed into community-friendly spaces.

Seosan builds waste facility with sauna, kids’ play areas

The city of Seosan in South Chungcheong recently completed a state-of-the-art waste recovery facility in Yangdae-dong, officially opening the site on Dec. 2.

Built at a cost of 105.4 billion won ($71.6 million), the plant can incinerate up to 200 tons of household waste per day. But what stands out is what surrounds it: a 94-meter (308-foot) observation tower — equivalent to a 30-story apartment — and an adventure slide that starts from the incineration building’s 30-meter-high smokestack. Also included are indoor rock climbing walls for kids, a children’s water park, a sauna and a jjimjilbang (Korean-style bathhouse).

The water play area can accommodate around 60 children, while the sauna facilities can hold up to 100 people at once. The observation deck, which costs 1,000 won to access, offers panoramic views of the Yellow Sea.

While the incineration system began full operation last month following trial runs and performance tests between July and September, the recreational and tourism facilities are scheduled to open in the first half of next year.

Hanam City's Union Park [HANAM CITY]

Waste heat from the incineration process will power the sauna and a nearby smart farm. The facility will also generate 3.2 megawatts of electricity per hour, which will be sold to the Korea Electric Power Corporation — generating about 2 billion won in annual revenue. To address environmental concerns, the smokestack is equipped with real-time monitoring devices that track levels of nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, dust and other pollutants.

“This facility is the result of 13 years of effort,” said Seosan Mayor Lee Wan-seop. “Our goal is to create not just a place that processes garbage, but a multipurpose cultural space where future generations can learn about and enjoy the environment.”

Asan: 50-story-high incinerator tower features restaurant, science exhibits

The city of Asan, also in South Chungcheong, operates a similar facility. Completed in June 2011 in Baemi-dong, Asan Environmental Science Park includes a waste incinerator and a sprawling eco-education complex built on 107,809 square meters (26.6 acres) at a cost of 115.6 billion won.

The complex houses an ecological insect garden, the Jang Young Sil Science Museum, a swimming pool and the Onyang 4-dong community center. Its wellness center features a gym, jjimjilbang, sauna and futsal field.

Atop the facility’s 150-meter-high smokestack — equivalent to a 50-story building — sits an observation deck and a restaurant, which draw more than 800,000 visitors annually. Admission to the observation deck costs 500 won. Like in Seosan, the Asan incinerator powers the surrounding facilities using waste heat. Inside the 3,666-square-meter insect garden are tropical plants such as papaya, mango and coffee trees. It’s also home to animals, including doctor fish, axolotls and meerkats.

“We maintain a constant indoor temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) even in winter using heat from the incinerator,” said a city official.

The 5SOMEPLEX in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi [PYEONGTAEK CITY]

Hanam’s Union Park hailed as the original model

Other cities, including Hanam and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi, have followed suit. Union Park in Hanam and the 5SOME PLEX (pronounced "awesome plex" in Korean) in Pyeongtaek are both built with their waste facilities underground and recreational amenities above — helping them shed their reputations as “nuisance facilities.”

Union Park, opened in 2015, was Korea’s first underground facility to combine waste and sewage treatment. It also features a 105-meter-high observation tower.

Pyeongtaek’s 5SOME PLEX, launched in 2019, processes up to 250 tons of household waste per day.

“Incinerators being seen as eyesores is a thing of the past,” said Yook Dong-il, president of the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration and an honorary professor at Chungnam National University. “They’ve become part of the community — with amenities residents actually want.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM BANG-HYUN [[email protected]]