A famous nation has a famous capital, and the development of a nation is associated with development of their capital. Some famous cities in some famous nation's capital are developed enough to attain fame. How developed is Seoul as the capital of Korea? If you ask to Seoul citizens "what do you like about Seoul?", the answer might be silence.
But Seoul is changing for Seoul citizens, in order to appease their fatigue by many kinds of festivals and cultural events and to take them more faster by subway and bus. For example, cultural events which Seoul city plan and organize itself are increasing, like the 'Hi Seoul Festival', and the subway culture performance. So Seoul isn't a just stuffy space surrounded by gray color paint.
The ‘Hi Seoul Festival’, was an enjoyable festival for everyone who like Seoul. Particularly, this '2005 Hi Seoul Festival' comes up with some vision about future of Seoul which is associated with greenness element such as 'Chungeachun' or 'Seoul Forest', which is newly made up. That was a great festival of centering street and a lot of variety.
Also, Seoul city will tour with visiting performances beginning with the '5.15 Marronnier' performance everywhere in the city. For a continuous culture of nostalgia, Seoul will hold the 'Seoul Citizen Culture Event' and 'Culture Sharing Event' to hold culture performances and small-scale cultural events where many citizens enjoy visiting, history culture scent of Seoul and culturally neglected areas such as Deahakro, Ssamzie Park, Han River Citizen Park, Station Plaza, Independence Gate Park and Homeless Meals Center.
'Seoul Citizen Culture Unity Project' develops a culture of art in Seoul and fills up the citizen's desire with art and also gratifies a space made from a '5 day work week system'. It creates an image of Seoul as a cultural city and this project is opening with a fixed period by 2000. In this project, there are 2 organizations and 24 performances made. The first half of the year and the next half of the year, there will be 12 performances each: yard-play, children big parties, magic shows, concerts, pop orchestra concert. Seoul city proclaimed this year as the 'The First Year Of Seoul Culture' to make Seoul a cultural city, where all the citizens can enjoy the culture in equal positions and participate in all the fantastic events.
Let's look at the in case of public transportation. Now we can travel more easily when we use public transportation such as the subways and city buses. 'Transfer Center' is a kind of transfer spot which enable you to move everywhere in city as transfer bus or subway.
Seoul city planned to install a 'Transfer Center' in Seoul Station, Dong-daemun Stadium, Sae-jong Culture Hall, which is the heart of the city, and also in Dang-san, Chung-rangli, Yeoyido, Jamsil station, Guro digital complex station, Gang-nam express bus terminal, Sin-dorim, Sadang, which are subcenters of the city. There are more places like Dobongsan, Gupabar, Yang-jae, Go-duk, Su-sek, Chun-wang, Bok-jeong -the boundary area of the city- and Guan-mun 4gu-ri, Gyo-mun 4gu-ri, Si-hyung 4gu-ri, Suk-su nadlemok -the outside areas of the city. - Seoul city plans the installation of a 'Transfer Center' at Chung-rangli station and Yeoyido first, until the upcoming July and until the end of the year, 'Guro Digital Complex Station' would be installed. They will finish it step by step and finish all the areas with a really nice looking 'Transfer Center' in all the 22 places mentioned above. We can expect a convenient use for public transportation not only by the bus reorganizing project which was carried out last year but also by the 'Transfer Center' where places are selected by the results made with a traffic effect estimation.
On the Han river, the 'Aqua-taxi' is showing. It is a motor boat which is using for the leisure in general, but in this case it is changed into a 'taxi'. Seoul city has placed 37 motor boats at nine Han river zones and nineteen harbors (stations) in it. There are about 2 motor boats at each station to transfer a guest where they want to go. For the price, they will earn about 2 times of the 'mobum taxi'. Guests can use it by going there by themselves or by making a reservation or by ARS or a phone. With connection of this system, Seoul is concerned about the plan to make a new bus line and the alteration of the lines for the convenience of citizens who use it. If there are so many people who use it, they plan to install the 'Aqua-bus', which connects the near subway station and the bus station with it. The 'Aqua-bus' would be operated about next year, of course by linking with the free transfer system.
Not only for the transportation, Seoul is working an the environment to enforce a comfortable life of Seoul citizens. Everyone can look at the sight of 'Chunggaechun' and take a rest and also they can go shopping. Also, children can play around the stream with beautiful scene교 and it connects a long way which covers a historical culture remains and Jong-ro, Dong-daemun Fasion Shops, Elgiro, which makes new tour sources. These change of environment made by the 'Chunggaechun Restoration Plan' will be very helpful to make Seoul a center of the economy and greeness city.
Seoul city is making a ecology city where nature and people are all together and constructing the environmental management base with the intention of making Seoul as a saving-sources and circulation-sources city. In other words, Seoul will be transformed to a green-city by the harmony of the environment and the development of a comprehensive and systematized environmental management organization.
So many changes are being held in Seoul, but it is not yet to stop. There is a motto, 'Ten years of time changes rivers and mountains,' and Seoul is changing at a high speed. It is for the citizens, and all of it has to be for the citizens. For the people living in Seoul, or the people living in Korea, for their happiness, health, and safety, the direction of improvement will go on.
By Jung Ji-hye
culture reporter