Seoul's G3 planning panel inspects Namsan gondola site, urges swift restart

The Balanced Development subcommittee of the G3 Seoul Plan Planning Committee — the body tasked with shaping Seoul's long-term growth strategy — visited Yejang Park and the Namsan summit Tuesday afternoon to assess public access conditions, discuss the need for a public gondola project and explore ways to get it back on track.

The inspection was attended by Nam Jin, chair of the Balanced Development subcommittee, along with eight other subcommittee members, Seoul Metropolitan Government officials, and representatives from the construction and supervision teams. The visit was organized to review progress on the Namsan gondola — a key project to improve access to the mountain — and to explore ways to develop Namsan into a destination that draws extended-stay tourists.

Members received a briefing on the project's status at a field office inside Yejang Park before touring the planned lower station site. They then moved to the summit to inspect the planned upper station site and assess access conditions at the top.

Namsan, one of Seoul's four major nighttime landmarks, has established itself as an urban retreat by linking the energy of Myeong-dong with the mountain's green spaces along a single nighttime tourism corridor. Yet transportation to the summit and access for mobility-impaired visitors remain inadequate. About 1.7 million people rode the Namsan cable car last year, but with only two 48-person cabins in service, waits of one to two hours are common on weekends and during peak seasons. Korea Ropeway Industry operates those two cabins — the only cable car service on the mountain. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Facilities Corporation have been pursuing a public gondola to address the shortfall, but construction has been suspended due to a lawsuit filed by Korea Ropeway Industry.

Members walked the roughly 350-meter steep incline from the summit bus stop to the top themselves, experiencing firsthand the difficulty faced by ordinary visitors. They said improving access for mobility-impaired users — including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families with young children — was an urgent priority.

After inspecting the planned upper and lower station sites, members agreed that construction of the Namsan gondola must resume promptly to prevent access difficulties for residents and tourists from dragging on any longer.

Ground was broken on the Namsan gondola in August 2024. The line will connect Yejang Park, near Myeong-dong Station, to the Namsan summit — a distance of 832 meters — in about three minutes. With 25 ten-person cabins, it will carry more than 2,000 passengers per hour and will accommodate wheelchair and stroller users.

Members noted that the gondola is more than a tourism facility: it is a core piece of public transport infrastructure that guarantees the right to mobility for all residents, including those with mobility limitations, while strengthening Namsan's competitiveness as a global tourist destination.

"Namsan will become a key attraction driving Seoul's rise to a top-three global city," the members said, adding that the mountain holds "infinite potential to grow into a global destination" if links to surrounding commercial districts — Myeong-dong, Namdaemun Market, Itaewon and Dongdaemun — are strengthened and extended-stay tourism offerings are significantly expanded.

The city said it plans to work closely with relevant agencies to establish the institutional groundwork needed to normalize the gondola project, with the goal of making Namsan — a symbol of an ecological urban core and a global destination — a place that everyone, regardless of age or ability, can enjoy.