An Underground Town the Size of 30 Ballparks to be Built in Yeondongdaero

On May 2, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a plan for the development of an underground town in Yeondongdaero with a size of 30 ballparks.

The section refers to the 630m-long (70m wide and 51m deep) section between Samseong Station (Subway Line-2) and Bongeunsa Station (Subway Line-9). It will be the largest in the country’s history of underground development. The underground town will have a set of complex public infrastructure, including an integrated subway station, a subway-bus transit center, a city airport terminal, and cultural facilities.

First, an integrated railway station will be built that will encompass Samseong-Dongtan Railway Express, an extended KTX line, GTX-A, GTX-C, Nambu Railway Express, and the Wirye-Sinsa Line, which go through Samseong Station. The SMG is reviewing how to build the best possible railway station from a variety of perspectives.

The City Airport Terminal, which is in the COEX building, will be relocated to the underground town to meet an increase in the demand for international business associated with the GBC and the MICE (Meeting, Incentive Tour, Convention, and Exhibition/Event) facilities. Passengers will then be able to check in on B1 level and then take an airport bus or Subway Line-9 on B2 level.

The new underground town will link the COEX Mall with the soon to be built GBC Mall. On the ground level, COEX will be conveniently linked to the GBC. The ground level will be linked to the underground town through a pedestrian network.

With the completion of the work for the integrated station, the number of people going through the underground town will come to 400,000 a day on average, about 1.3 times the number of those using Seoul Station, thus making the area the hub of the country’s public transportation network.

By 2021, when the Samseong-Dongtan Railway Express is opened, the travel time between Dongtan and Gangnam will be reduced from the present 41-66 minutes to about 20 minutes. The travel time between Samseong Station and Seoul City Hall will be only 5 minutes with the opening of the GTX-A Line (Samseong-KINTEX).