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Seoul City will open up an 8,184-sq m grassy knoll on Friday surrounding Sungnyemun, or Namdaemun (South Gate), one of the city¡¯s four old fortress gates that had stood abandoned on an island amid fearsome traffic.
The new plaza is easily accessible on foot by five crosswalks.
After planting grass and trees in front of the gate, Seoul City named the space Sungnyemun Square, and announced it would open it to the public on Friday. The crosswalks make it easy to walk from the plaza to Namdaemun Market.
"With the construction of Seoul City Hall Square last May, the building of crosswalks at the Gwanghwamun crossroad on April 20, and the construction of the Sungnyemun Square, a pedestrian belt connecting Gwanghwamun, Seoul City Hall Square, Sungnyemun and Seoul Station - downtown Seoul's main artery - has been completed,¡± a city official said Wednesday.
Sungnyemun, built in the seventh year of the Chosun King Taejo¡¯s reign (1398), is the oldest wooden structure in Seoul, but the surrounding fortress walls were removed in 1899 to build a streetcar route. After the destruction of much of the area as a result of Japanese colonial urban planning, the gate had stood on a desolate traffic island, unapproachable to visitors.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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