On the 14th at about 9 p.m., at Seoullo 7017 in Jung-gu, Seoul. Around 50 citizens and foreigners were taking a walk at this place, which turned the Seoul Station overpass into a park.
The peaceful mood was shattered by a scream. A citizen sat on a bench next to a flower bed, then jumped up with an "Ack" sound. Several cockroaches crawled out from the gaps in the flower bed's cement and around the bench. A child nearby was startled and clung to a parent.
A Seoullo 7017 management employee said, "A lot of cockroaches that were inside the tree pots (large planters with trees) come out at night," and noted it was "a situation that requires extermination."
◇ Cockroaches pour out at night or when it rains
Seoullo 7017 is suffering from a rash of cockroach sightings. It has been promoted as one of Seoul's signature night-view spots, but both citizens and foreign tourists are frowning.
The controversy erupted as a video posted recently on an online community spread. In a video released by a foreigner under the title "Things you can see when you take a night walk in Seoul," dozens of cockroaches were seen roaming around the flower beds and benches at Seoullo 7017.
The video spread quickly through social media (SNS). Online, reactions followed such as, "Isn't the soil in the flower beds being managed properly?" and "It's one of Seoul's top tourist spots, so pest control should be strengthened."
On site, cockroaches were also reported to appear mainly at night or after it rains. During the day, they hide in flower beds or cement gaps within Seoullo 7017, then crawl out around benches and walkways when it gets dark.
A person surnamed Kim, 50, who works nearby, said, "Foreign tourists will likely visit Seoullo 7017 as a major attraction in Seoul, and seeing cockroaches roaming around won't make Seoul look good."
◇ Revamped into an "elevated walking park" during Mayor Park Won-soon's tenure
Seoullo 7017 is a space where about 60 billion won was spent during Mayor Park Won-soon's tenure to revamp the Seoul Station overpass into an elevated walking park. Taking numbers from 1970, when the Seoul Station overpass was built, and 2017, when it opened as a walkway, the name "Seoullo 7017" was attached.
As an urban walkway connecting from Seoul Station to the Sungnyemun area, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has introduced Seoullo 7017 as "a space where the function of an elevated walkway and green space combine to become a living plant encyclopedia, and it also serves as a 1-kilometer urban observatory." Annual visitors are said to exceed 6 million.
However, since opening, steady criticism has been raised that overall management of planters, landscaping facilities, and the walking environment has been inadequate. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has invested about 1.6 billion won every year in maintenance and management costs, but now the controversy over cockroach sightings has also erupted.
There have also been repeated calls to demolish Seoullo 7017. However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is not currently considering demolition. Instead, it has announced plans to create Seoullo 7017 as an open space—an open rest area—linked with nearby hub facilities such as the historic and cultural plaza.
◇ Seoul city to push pest control after expert firm's detailed diagnosis
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has carried out mite control work on trees created within Seoullo 7017. But with a large number of cockroaches appearing, it decided to take additional measures.
On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to call in a professional pest control firm to conduct a detailed diagnosis of Seoullo 7017 overall. After identifying where the cockroaches live and by what routes they appear around benches and walkways, it plans to continue pest control operations together with the Jung-gu public health center.
An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government said, "After identifying the cause of cockroaches appearing in Seoullo 7017's concrete spaces, we will take measures to prevent recurrence."