Seoul opens first integrated sports center for people with and without disabilities

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday opened Seoul Eoulim Sports Center, the city's first integrated public sports facility where people with and without disabilities can exercise and interact together, the city announced Friday.

Built at a total cost of 77.2 billion won ($57.6 million), the facility in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu — at 1686 Dongil-ro — spans 14,827 square meters across two below-ground floors and three above-ground floors. It was designed as a multipurpose sports complex capable of hosting recreational activities, professional athlete training and competitive events.

The center features a 32-lane bowling alley built to international standards for professional training and domestic and international competitions, as well as a 10-lane swimming pool that includes four lanes designated for people with disabilities. Additional facilities include a toddler pool, a temperature-regulation pool, an indoor gymnasium, multipurpose rooms and a fitness training area.

The swimming pool is equipped with a dedicated ramp and an underwater lift so that wheelchair users can enter the water, and a hoist is available to assist people with severe disabilities in and out of the pool. The fitness area features specialized exercise equipment and rehabilitation aids for wheelchair users, while the bowling alley has been fitted with handrails and mobile chairs to support physical activity.

Barrier-free design standards have been applied throughout the building so that people with disabilities, as well as seniors, children and others who face barriers to sports participation, can use the facility without difficulty.

The center will offer a total of 97 sports programs — 26 tailored specifically for people with disabilities and 71 integrated programs open to both disabled and non-disabled participants. The lineup will be adjusted flexibly based on demand and operational conditions.

The disability-specific programs include small-group sessions — in one-on-three and one-on-six formats — designed around different disability types and characteristics, as well as family swimming classes where children attend with a guardian, boccia, basketball, stretching, yoga and jump rope.

To ensure broad and equitable access, the city will select program members through a random lottery.

Membership periods are set at a maximum of one year for people with disabilities, reflecting their need for sustained participation in physical activity, and a maximum of six months for those without disabilities.

To formally guarantee the right of people with disabilities to use the facility, the center's management and operations regulations explicitly enshrine their right of access and the principle of priority use.

Time slots and spaces in high demand among people with disabilities will also be reserved for them on a priority basis. Earlier this year, in March, the city opened Eoulim Plaza — a combined welfare and cultural complex for people with and without disabilities — in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu. The opening of the sports center extends the city's governing philosophy of "walking with the vulnerable" into the realm of athletics.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon described the center as "a space that embodies the value of walking with the vulnerable — a place where people with and without disabilities exercise and mingle together, naturally coming to understand each other's differences."

Oh said the city would "expand the spirit of togetherness that begins here across all of Seoul, and build a '100-year healthy city Seoul' where anyone, regardless of age, physical condition or disability, can enjoy exercise close to their daily lives and live in good health."