Seoul's Yongsan Najin Arcade will be transformed into a hub for new industries, including artificial intelligence (AI).
The Seoul city government said on the 15th it passed the architectural review for the "Yongsan Electronics District Special Planning Zone 8 new construction project" at the 11th Architecture Committee meeting on the 14th.
The site is around 15-2, Hangang-ro 2-ga, Yongsan District, where Najin Arcade buildings 17 and 18 and the Yongsan Parking Building are located. Through this project, it will be converted into a new-industry office facility linked to the Yongsan International Business District. The plan is to create offices, neighborhood living facilities, and sports facilities in a building with nine basement levels and 26 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of about 155,000 square meters.
The plan focuses on preserving the industrial identity of the existing electronics market area while introducing workspaces that can be linked to new industries such as AI and information and communication technology (ICT), functionally consolidating the Yongsan International Business District and the electronics market area. Neighborhood living facilities and an open lounge will be created on the lower floors, and new-industry office space will be added above.
In addition, it will create a pedestrian-friendly open urban space by consolidating the public open space along Cheongpa-ro with an elevated public pedestrian passage. A rest-and-walk network that naturally consolidates Cheongpa-ro with the interior of the site will secure green and stay spaces around the electronics market area and provide rest areas that residents and visitors alike can use.
A 5-meter-wide public pedestrian passage connecting Cheongpa-ro and the public parking lot, an elevated public pedestrian passage along Cheongpa-ro, and a connecting bridge consolidated with adjacent special planning zones will be created to strengthen the pedestrian network among Yongsan Station, the electronics market, and surrounding development sites.
Public contribution facilities will include a public parking lot and the Seoul Veterans Hall. The parking lot will provide 400 parking spaces along with bicycle-related facilities and a depot for call taxis for people with disabilities. The Seoul Veterans Hall will bring together dispersed national merit recipients and veterans-related organizations in one place and strengthen public service functions.
The project aims to begin construction next year and be completed in 2030. Myeong No-jun, Seoul's housing bureau director, said, "The Yongsan electronics market area has a central location in Seoul and access to public transportation, and it has high growth potential for new industries," adding, "Through this project, the aging electronics market area will be reborn as a new urban hub that combines pedestrian and green spaces with a foundation for future industries."