If some residents of the capital South Korean thought they knew their city like the back of their hand, this is not the case. An astonishing 335 m tunnel covering an area of 3,000 m2 hidden under Seoul Plaza, one of the city’s most famous squares, has just been revealed to the public, reports the Guardian.
Since Wednesday, this large empty concrete space resembling a underground parking disused site in which numerous stalactites have formed welcomes public tours until the end of September. Its origin and usefulness still remain unknown to the municipality.
Several hypotheses on the origin of the construction of this place are considered, such as that of a bunker anti-aircraft as we find many in the country given the proximity to the North Koreaor quite simply a corridor never used to connect two stations Metro.
The space that even has stalactites has opened to the public for a few days throughout September. Citizens will now have until mid-October to submit suggestions for how to use it. pic.twitter.com/QT5oQGwIoF
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) September 13, 2023
The city intends to use this space
The Guardian journalist was able to attend this one-hour visit where the wearing a mask and headphones are obligatory, and describe a place where he “wouldn’t want to be alone” and where the “rumbles” of a metro line can be heard. According to the guide, this space was created when the Euljiro 1-ga metro station opened in 1983, and has therefore been unused for four decades.
Revealed as part of a city project to transform metro stations into urban attractionsthis tunnel represents “an opportunity to discover the hidden stories of the city” and explore a space “you could never have imagined,” according to the director of the Seoul Future Urban Spaces Planning Office, Hong Sun- ki.
Underground parking, Seoul catacombs, space to house techno evenings or place to hold exhibitions… citizens have until mid-October to submit ideas for how the city could use this mysterious space.