[Community Discovery] Blending old and new for sustainable Seongdong

The urban regeneration project for Seongdong-gu in eastern Seoul fosters ways both to attract new visitors and enhance existing residents' lives while advocating for the coexistence of the district’s older and new buildings and communities.

“Seongdong-gu will become a sustainable cultural district through the urban regeneration project, which promotes ‘coexistence’ as its core value,” said Seongdong-gu head Chong Won-o during a press tour on Oct. 26.

As a core project, the district office plans to transform a factory site occupied by ready-mix concrete manufacturer Sampyo Remicon for the past 45 years in Seongsu-dong, a neighborhood located in Seongdong-gu, eastern Seoul.

The 22,700-square-meter factory was demolished on Aug. 16, 2022 and is being turned into an outdoor culture and leisure venue for the public to enjoy events such as concerts for the next two years. One part of the site covering 8,507 square meters, or almost 40 percent of its total area, has already been developed to host indoor and outdoor performance venues.

By the end of November, almost half the site will be converted into a public parking lot, along with a new grass field.

Chong stated that the performance venues will be able to seat up to 10,000 people and the field will be able to accommodate 5,000, similar in size to the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Jamsil, southern Seoul.