Yongsan Park for citizens

 

Yongsan Park for citizens

 

Yongsan Park, which is going to be built south of the new presidential office in Yongsan, is modeled after the National Mall in the U.S. The National Mall is the most visited park located outside the southern boundary of the White House. And the National Mall is in sight of the White House.

 

The government believes that just giving citizens a chance to see the president and his office from the park area would help bring the government closer to ordinary citizens. As part of the effort, a resting space is planned to be situated within sight of the presidential office. 

 

From the 10th, some of the park site will open for a 10-day test run. Walking along the site, visitors encounter the 1950s-style accomodation buildings for the U.S general, American-style sports filed, and the stone wall built in the Japanese colonized rule.

 

Visitors will feel as if they are in the U.S. or Japan. Japan had used the site as its army base since 1904, and since its defeat in 1945, the U.S. army has been stationed there, prohibiting the entry of unauthorized personnel. The site will be opened for the first time in 118 years.

 

However, there is a lot of concern about pollution in this area as much as the expectations for the opening. In an inspection conducted by the environment ministry last year, the TPH level was found to be 29 times higher than the threshold in the barracks complex.

 

It seems attributed to oil leaks happened frequently during the stationing of the U.S. army. LH spent 10 billion won to purify the previously returned site of the United Nations Command near the U.S. army garrison.

 

The army base is incomparably larger than the UNC. The purification cost is also highly likely to rise astronomically. Rushing to open the site will only make the South Korean government lose leverage over negotiation for the purification cost sharing.

 

Even though the two countries agreed on the relocation of Yongsan army base in 2004, there were repeated delays in the actual return process. Until now, only 10% of the site have been returned. The real estate development of the army base site is not just a park development project but a national task that involves the interests of South Korea, the U.S., environment activist groups, and local governments. Any decision on the development must reflect social consensus.

 

 

 

[Summary]

 

The Yongsan Park in South Korea is being modeled after the National Mall in the United States. The park will be located near the new presidential office and will have a resting space within sight of the office. The government hopes that the park will help bring the government closer to ordinary citizens. The park site will open for a 10-day test run and will have features reminiscent of the 1950s US and Japanese eras. However, there is concern about the pollution level in the area which was found to be 29 times higher than the rhreshold due to oil leaks from the US army stationed there. The purification cost is expected to be high and rushing to open the site will compromise the government's leverage in cost sharing negotiations. The development of the former army base is a complex national task involving various interests and requires social consensus.