Fountain in front of Bank of Korea to make way for public plaza after 48 years

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will relocate the fountain in front of the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu and transform the site into a public plaza.

The fountain, installed in 1978, will be restored and moved to the east gate plaza of Bukseoul Dream Forest. It has stood as a landmark of downtown Seoul for nearly half a century.

Construction will begin in mid-September. The fountain will be dismantled, preserved and placed in temporary storage, while the existing site will be leveled and opened as a temporary plaza by year's end — giving residents a wider, safer space ahead of the busy year-end holiday season. A full plaza redesign will follow after expert consultations, with the fountain's relocation to Bukseoul Dream Forest and surrounding landscape improvements set to be completed by the first half of next year.

The project is being carried out under a corporate social responsibility agreement involving the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Jung-gu District Office and Shinsegae. The city will provide the site for the fountain's relocation, while the district office will handle operations and management once the plaza is complete. Shinsegae will cover all project costs as part of its community contribution. The plaza will operate as a public space open to all. The city and district plan to prioritize public safety, drawing up safety management plans — including projected visitor numbers and pedestrian flow — before cultural events such as performances and festivals.

City officials also expect synergies with the large media facade that Shinsegae's flagship store has operated since November 2024. The display measures 72 meters wide and 18 meters tall, covering roughly 1,292 to 1,350 square meters — equivalent to three or four basketball courts. During the year-end season, crowds already gather on the sidewalk across the street to watch Christmas content broadcast on the screen.

The current fountain occupies a large portion of the available space, leaving limited room for pedestrians and spectators. Concerns have consistently been raised about the need for a wider, safer area, particularly during large events when people tend to concentrate in certain zones.

Through this project, the city aims to shift the space from facility-centered to people-centered. Steps and obstacles will be removed, and the boundaries between walking, viewing and rest areas will be eliminated to create a barrier-free open plaza accessible to everyone.

The plaza's capacity will expand from roughly 2,300 people to about 7,000 — nearly three times the current figure. In ordinary times, the space will serve as a rest area for residents and tourists; depending on the season and occasion, it will also function as an urban stage for cultural programming. The city said it aims to develop Myeong-dong into one of the world's top three tourist destinations alongside New York's Times Square and Tokyo's Shibuya. The plaza will be designed flexibly to accommodate a range of programs, including an outdoor library, busking and K-pop performances, a ground-level fountain, Seoul Summer Beach and a Christmas festival.

"The fountain in front of the Bank of Korea has been a symbol of downtown Seoul for nearly half a century," said Choi Jin-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Disaster and Safety Management Office. "That space will now be reborn as a plaza where residents and tourists can walk, rest and enjoy culture." He added, "With large crowds converging during the year-end season, widening the space will ease congestion — and the fountain itself will live on through restoration and relocation, not demolition."