SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Municipal Profile
Population: 10,280,523
Budget: US$10 billion
Land Area: 605 square kilometers
Economic Activities: commercial, manufacturing, administration
Environmental Expertise: air quality
Issue Addressed
Land Use Management
Key Management Concept
Strong local government commitment and significant financial resources can transform a damaged environment into a recreation area for citizens.
Program Name
Creating World Cup Park on Nanjido Island
Program Goals
To restore the ecosystems of the once-beautiful island of Nanjido, formerly Seoul's landfill site, by turning the barren land into an environment-friendly eco-park.
Program Abstract
Nanjido, located in Seoul's Mapo-gu District, was a beautiful island until the late 1970s. From 1978 to 1993, the island was used as a landfill site, creating two mammoth mountains of waste from Seoul that rise to a height of 98 meters and stretch 2.4 kilometers. As there were neither basic sanitary facilities nor pollution prevention facilities to treat this waste, leachate and gas from the landfill polluted the Hangang River and the groundwater, soil and air in the vicinity.
In 1991, two years before the landfill was closed, the Seoul Metropolitan Government commissioned outside experts to prepare a plan to prevent further environmental pollution from the landfill and implement pollution stabilization measures. After evaluating potential uses for the Nanjido landfill from technical, environmental, economic, and land use perspectives, it was decided that facilities should be constructed over the landfill to prevent further environmental pollution. The basic blueprint for the stabilization project was drawn up from 1993 to 1996, and construction work began in December 1996.
In order to transform the landfill into a place that citizens could enjoy, Seoul Metropolitan Government held public hearings with the participation of experts in various fields and individual citizens to formulate a plan to create an environment-friendly park. Starting in 1999, a total of US$78 million was invested in a three-and-a-half-year project to create World Cup Park on Nanjido to commemorate the hosting of the 2002 FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) soccer World Cup by Korea and Japan.
The project on the 3,471,090 square-meter site includes several elements. Pyeonghwa Park was built to commemorate the new millennium and the 2002 FIFA World Cup games. The Nanjicheon Stream and its surrounding ecosystem were restored by channeling water from the Hangang River into a pond in Pyeonghwa Park and then directing it into the Nanjicheon Stream. In the upper area of the landfill the Haneul eco-park was created. Covered with grassland, and bedecked with azaleas, sunflowers, and buckwheat flowers, the park includes an observation deck, promenades, and habitats for insects. It will be used for educational purposes. The nine-hole golf course in Noeul Park was made as environment-friendly as possible by planting wide-leaf grasses to minimize the total area of the fairways, as well as treating runoff at the leachate treatment site and then re-treating it at a sewage treatment plant.
Population: 10,280,523
Budget: US$10 billion
Land Area: 605 square kilometers
Economic Activities: commercial, manufacturing, administration
Environmental Expertise: air quality
Issue Addressed
Land Use Management
Key Management Concept
Strong local government commitment and significant financial resources can transform a damaged environment into a recreation area for citizens.
Program Name
Creating World Cup Park on Nanjido Island
Program Goals
To restore the ecosystems of the once-beautiful island of Nanjido, formerly Seoul's landfill site, by turning the barren land into an environment-friendly eco-park.
Program Abstract
Nanjido, located in Seoul's Mapo-gu District, was a beautiful island until the late 1970s. From 1978 to 1993, the island was used as a landfill site, creating two mammoth mountains of waste from Seoul that rise to a height of 98 meters and stretch 2.4 kilometers. As there were neither basic sanitary facilities nor pollution prevention facilities to treat this waste, leachate and gas from the landfill polluted the Hangang River and the groundwater, soil and air in the vicinity.
In 1991, two years before the landfill was closed, the Seoul Metropolitan Government commissioned outside experts to prepare a plan to prevent further environmental pollution from the landfill and implement pollution stabilization measures. After evaluating potential uses for the Nanjido landfill from technical, environmental, economic, and land use perspectives, it was decided that facilities should be constructed over the landfill to prevent further environmental pollution. The basic blueprint for the stabilization project was drawn up from 1993 to 1996, and construction work began in December 1996.
In order to transform the landfill into a place that citizens could enjoy, Seoul Metropolitan Government held public hearings with the participation of experts in various fields and individual citizens to formulate a plan to create an environment-friendly park. Starting in 1999, a total of US$78 million was invested in a three-and-a-half-year project to create World Cup Park on Nanjido to commemorate the hosting of the 2002 FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) soccer World Cup by Korea and Japan.
The project on the 3,471,090 square-meter site includes several elements. Pyeonghwa Park was built to commemorate the new millennium and the 2002 FIFA World Cup games. The Nanjicheon Stream and its surrounding ecosystem were restored by channeling water from the Hangang River into a pond in Pyeonghwa Park and then directing it into the Nanjicheon Stream. In the upper area of the landfill the Haneul eco-park was created. Covered with grassland, and bedecked with azaleas, sunflowers, and buckwheat flowers, the park includes an observation deck, promenades, and habitats for insects. It will be used for educational purposes. The nine-hole golf course in Noeul Park was made as environment-friendly as possible by planting wide-leaf grasses to minimize the total area of the fairways, as well as treating runoff at the leachate treatment site and then re-treating it at a sewage treatment plant.
Since the decomposition of waste in the landfill is continuing, monitoring and follow-up measures are required. The restoration of the ecosystem on Nanjido has just started and will require more time and effort in the future.
The creation of World Cup Park has produced several benefits. From an environmental viewpoint, the Hangang River and the groundwater, soil, and air near Nanjido are now protected against leachate and landfill gas pollution. Problems related to odor, dust, and the proliferation of harmful insects were contained and reversed. From a technological viewpoint, the techniques used to clean up and stabilize the Nanjido landfill can be implemented by other Korean local governments facing similar environmental problems from non-sanitary landfills. From a socio-economic viewpoint, the call of citizens to restore the local environment was answered. Naturalized and environment-friendly parks were created and serve as places for recreation, respite, or environmental education.
Financing
The Seoul Metropolitan Government spent $195 million on the project, of which $117 million was spent on landfill stabilization and $78 million was spent on the creation of the parks.
Staff
The World Cup Park project was implemented by 7 Seoul Metropolitan Government officials, 15 construction company employees, 10 construction supervisors, and 90 construction workers. Eighty-three government officials are currently managing World Cup Park.
Lessons Learned
Even land once abandoned as a landfill can become a place of recreation and environmental education and loved by citizens. Local governments eventually have to pay the price for recklessly dumping waste without implementing any environmental safeguards.
Key Publications
Lee, In-sung. 2000. Master Plan of the Millennium Park. Shinwoo Engineering Company Limited. 1999. Master Plan of the Forest of Good Hope.
Contact
Seong Young Kim, Staff of Environment Division
Seoul Metropolitan Government
31 Taepyongno l(il)-ga
Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-744
Republic of Korea
Tel: +82-2/3707-9516
Fax: +82-2/3707-9529
Email: kimseong@seoul.go.kr
Website
www.metro.seoul.kr
