How Seoul became a metropolis
Read "Introducing Seoul part 1" here!
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In the 1980s, urban improvement and beautification policies were implemented by hosting the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics. The main projects were the massive construction of Olympic-related facilities such as large stadiums, Olympic parks, and athletes' villages in Jamsil, the comprehensive development plan of the Han River and the construction of Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic Boulevard along the Han River, the continuous construction of subway lines 2, 3, 4 and redevelopment of houses.
Also, the construction of large-scale apartment complexes in Gangnam, Mok-dong, Godeok, Gaepo, and Sanggye in response to explosive housing demand from the middle class, contributed to the development of Seoul. At the same time, the population exceeded 10 million in 1988. In the 1990s, Seoul, which had a per capita income of more than $10,000, built additional subway lines 5 to 8, and skyscrapers changed the skyline of downtown Seoul and Gangnam. Since then, Seoul has experienced suburbanization and wide-areaization, and the suburbs have been constantly developed along with five new cities in Bundang, Ilsan, Pyeongchon, Sanbon, and the Middle East.
Seoul, which used to be a fortress city 100 years ago, has grown into a huge city, Cheonggyecheon Stream has been restored, Seoul Plaza and Gwanghwamun Square have been built, and the historical city of Hanyang City and ancient palaces is being registered in UNESCO. In addition, the public transportation system was reorganized, such as the construction of skyscrapers with more than 100 stories in Yongsan, Samseong-dong, Jamsil, and Sangam, the metropolitan express line of Subway Line 9 and Sinbundang Line was built, and the central bus lane system was introduced. In addition, it is trying to provide a convenient and fast public transportation system, such as reviewing wide-area express routes to directly connect downtown Seoul, sub-city and metropolitan cities in preparation for inter-Korean unification.
Seoul began to today's development in the mid-20th century. Other big cities such as London and New York were already large cities with millions of people in the early 20th century, and Tokyo was also already growing into large cities with well over a million people.
However, Seoul continued to grow explosively in the late 20th century and grew into a large city with a larger population than these cities. Accordingly, Seoul is currently at a considerable level of urban infrastructure such as public transportation, roads, and water and sewage, and has recently stood out in various urban competitiveness evaluations around the world.
In the recent era of low growth, Seoul is having several urban problems such as due to the low birth rate, aging, increasing number of single-person households, and high housing prices. Accordingly, the 2030 Seoul Plan aims to realize it by integrating it into five issues, 17 goals, and 58 strategies with the vision of a "happy civic city with communication and consideration" through civic participation.
Source of the original text(KR) : 서울연구데이터서비스(https://data.si.re.kr)