Songpa-gu in Seoul will create a 6,700-square-meter street garden near the Garak Market intersection, the district announced Monday.
The project is part of the "Songpa-daero Luxury Street" initiative, which the district has pursued since the eighth elected term of local government, and aims to transform the area around the Garak Market intersection into a pedestrian-friendly space blending greenery with rest areas.
The project site covers the area around 480 Garak-dong. The district will invest 500 million won ($340,000) from the Seoul Metropolitan Government budget — a plan it drew up in February after holding public briefings for residents — and broke ground Monday, with completion targeted for October.
The garden will be divided into three zones based on the character of each space: a "Theme Garden" where visitors can enjoy seasonal flowers and a variety of trees; a "Rest Garden" offering benches and shaded areas to relax; and an "Activity Garden" designed for walking and light exercise.
The project focuses particularly on maximizing synergy by linking the new garden with green spaces already established around the Garak Market intersection.
The district previously transformed the Garak Market water purification tower into a large-scale public artwork called "The Trophy" and developed the surrounding Trophy Park. Across from Helio City, it also built a 365-meter barefoot earthing trail featuring a clay path and acupressure walkway, and planted a variety of trees — including 207 large-form mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon) — to expand urban green space.
With the addition of this street garden, the green spaces on each side of the Garak Market intersection are expected to become significantly richer, further expanding a green pedestrian environment where residents can walk, rest and enjoy nature in their daily lives.
Songpa-gu has been carrying out the Songpa-daero Luxury Street project to improve the urban landscape and pedestrian environment along the entire length of Songpa-daero. Of 25 sub-projects in total, 22 have been completed to date. Cultural and rest spaces — including "The Sphere," which connects Seokchon Lake to Songpa-daero, along with the lake bridge observation deck, pocket rest shelters and "The Trophy" — have been developed in succession, gradually turning Songpa-daero into a street people want to walk and linger on.
In the ninth elected term as well, the district plans to develop gardens and green spaces in large and small underused pockets throughout the urban area, working toward making Songpa a "garden city" where residents can enjoy the tranquility of a garden wherever they go.
"Residents are feeling the changes in Songpa in their everyday lives through the Songpa-daero Luxury Street project," district mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "Through this garden at the Garak Market intersection, we will strengthen the connection with existing green spaces and continue building a more livable Songpa where residents can walk, rest and enjoy nature."
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