The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will begin a full-scale renovation of waterfronts across sections of the Hangang River to strengthen the global urban competitiveness of Seoul.

As a major river of Seoul that runs across the city center from east to west spanning 41.5 km with a basin area of 39.9 square km, the Hangang River plays an important role in Seoul’s urban spatial and functional structures. Acknowledging its importance, the city outlined plans of establishing new points of local vitality by revamping urban waterfront spaces in its announcement of Seoul Vision 2030 last year.

Moreover, this approach is detailed in a draft of the Seoul 2040 Comprehensive Plan announced in March, which aims to create fluvial water-centric infrastructure evenly throughout Seoul to transform waterfront spaces for enriching the daily lives of citizens and enhancing the city’s urban competitiveness. As one of the plan’s six socio-spatial schemas, the importance of waterfront policy has increased and resulted in a greater expectation of transforming areas of the Hangang River into global waterfronts.

Through this plan, the city plans to enhance Seoul’s urban competitiveness on the global stage by preparing effective strategies to establish water-centric infrastructure centered around the Hangang River, such as revitalizing waterfront spaces and strengthening the interconnection among major urban nuclei of Seoul.

In order to fully realize the comprehensive plan, the city plans to draw up tasks for implementation by collecting expert opinions and conducting public surveys as well as establishing effective policies through organic collaboration with related departments.

Seoul plans to manage the Hangang River systematically and gain a foothold as a global leader by actively utilizing the potential of the river’s waterfront spaces.