Seoullo 7017
Seoullo 7017, also known as the Seoul Skygarden or Skypark, is an elevated linear park in Seoul, built atop a former highway overpass. The path, which is about in length and lined with 24,000 plants, is similar to New York City's High Line. Skygarden was designed by MVRDV, a Dutch firm, and opened in May 2017. The path also improves walking times around Seoul Station.
The disused overpass closed in 2015 and cuts diagonally across Seoul Station at above street level. The "70" in the name comes from 1970, the year the flyover was dedicated, while the "17" is a reference to both the number of walkways connected to it and its opening in 2017. The park includes gardens, terraces, and exhibitions, and was promised to "feature over 24,085 plants representing 228 species of trees, shrubs and flowers found in and outside Korea."
History
In the 1960s, a decade after the Korean War, Seoul constructed dozens of elevated highways to keep traffic flowing through the capital. Over time, the overpasses came to be seen as a blight on the landscape, and their deteriorating condition posed a safety risk." As they were gradually removed, city planners begand to repurpose some as pedestrian green spaces. Seoul mayor Park Won-soon pushed for the US$52 million skypark to be completed as a complement to Seoul's Cheonggyecheon Stream restoration project, organized under previous mayor Lee Myung-bak.The park's plans faced early controversy over fears of traffic congestion and concerns from market owners in nearby Namdaemun.