Seoul Station Convention Center to Open in 2014
Urban Revitalization Will Boost Convention Industry,
Create New Jobs
An international convention center is to be built in the Seoul Station area by 2014, bringing the city a step closer to its goal of becoming Asia's main convention industry hub.
On April 7, Korea's railroad operator KORAIL announced that the Ministry of Knowledge Economy approved plans for building the "Seoul Station Exhibition & Convention Center." The venue is an integral part of KORAIL's development plans for the northern section of the 55,000- square-meter Seoul Station commercial zone.
The area from the northern section of the station to Yeomcheon-gyo will be the site of the convention center that will be the city's largest. The plan calls for the transformation of Seoul Station, one of the city's main landmarks, into a hub of culture, history, tourism and transportation.
The project is part of the "Seoul Station Northern Commercial Zone Development Plan" announced in December 2008 by Minister of Sports, Culture and Tourism Yoo In-chon, Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul and Acting President of KORAIL Shim Hyeok-yoon.
The city will create eight plazas around the old train station that will be linked with Seosomun Park, and the new station's elevated expressway will be replaced with an alternative road structure. The entire Seoul Station area will be transformed into a rail-based eco-friendly international commercial and business complex, further accelerating the development of the surrounding districts. The new complex is expected to revitalize the Gangbuk district's convention industry as well as significantly contribute to the uniform development of the Gangbuk and Gangnam districts, a perennial issue for Seoul's urban growth.
The new convention center will include Korea's largest conference facility (23,000㎡) and an exhibition space (16,000㎡) that will total over 50,000㎡, a multipurpose cultural space that will be larger than COEX (46,400㎡), currently Seoul's main exhibition venue. It will also include a 3,000-seat international conference center.
The project with a budget of 970 billion won will see the creation of a brand-new exhibition and convention center as well as hotels and business and commercial facilities. Along with the development projects for the Yongsan Station area, KORAIL plans to back the Seoul Station plan as one of its key growth projects.
"We will focus all of our resources on successfully completing this project to enable Seoul Station to become an international commercial complex," said Kim Heon, project development manager for KORAIL. "Seoul Station will be transformed into a world-class transportation and business center."
"The urban management plan and zone-specific outlines will be completed by the first half of this year, and construction will begin early next year," said Kim, adding that "the project will create an economic effect of over 800 billion won as well as bring 80,000 new jobs."
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