On the 10th, it was announced that the Gangnam District of Seoul will establish an 18-hole outdoor park golf course at the DAEMO Mountain site. Last June, the district opened the largest single outdoor park golf course among Seoul’s autonomous districts, measuring 27 holes, and now plans to build an additional one.
On the 8th, Gangnam District held an informational meeting on the ‘Gangnam Healing Forest Creation’ at the Ilwonbon-dong Community Center. At this meeting, the district announced its plan to develop an 18-hole ‘Gangnam Healing Park Golf Course (tentative name)’ at the DAEMO Mountain site.
The DAEMO Mountain site, where Gangnam District plans to build the outdoor park golf course, is located near the Gaepo-dong Ilwon Tunnel, covering an area of 25,000 square meters. Previously, the district developed a site of 9,500 square meters at DAEMO Mountain near the Guryeong Tunnel last year.
Originally, this land was used for farming since before the Yeongdong development in the 1970s, and it was designated as a park as part of the city planning facilities by the Seoul city government in July 1977. However, no significant projects for park development occurred, and in 1999, with the Constitutional Court ruling, the ‘urban park expiration system’ was introduced, putting the site at risk of disappearing. The urban park expiration system removes the designation of urban parks if they are not developed within 20 years of designation. In response, Gangnam District collaborated with the Seoul city government to complete land compensation in 2020, and began design services in 2022 to actively pursue the development of the site.
Gangnam District's initiative to create an outdoor park golf course at this site stems from significant demand. Despite opening the region's first outdoor park golf course in June last year, residents, including those from the Gangnam Senior Citizens' Association, have continued to request the installation of additional outdoor park golf courses.
With the addition of the new 18-hole course to the existing 27-hole course, a total of 45 holes of outdoor park golf are expected to be operational in Gangnam District. The 27-hole outdoor park golf course is already the largest facility among Seoul’s autonomous districts based on the single standard, and it will now have the largest overall area.
According to the Korea Park Golf Association, there are currently 13 outdoor park golf courses across 11 autonomous districts in Seoul. Each of the following districts has one: Gangnam, Gangdong, Geumcheon, Dongdaemun, Gangseo, Yangcheon, Mapo, Songpa, and Nowon. Guro and Yeongdeungpo each have two. Nowon District added one more 9-hole outdoor park golf course in October last year, but it is still in a temporary opening status. Including this, Nowon now has two.
However, to hold an official park golf tournament, a course of 18 holes is required. Based on this criterion, the districts where tournaments can be held include Gangnam, Guro, Geumcheon, Yangcheon, Yeongdeungpo, and Mapo.
A representative from Gangnam District noted, “It is true that we are currently in the design service stage for the outdoor park golf course,” while also stating, “There are still steps remaining to receive approval from the Seoul city government and others.”