Seoul council member secures funds to fix 9-year pedestrian bottleneck near school for the deaf

A narrow pedestrian path in front of Seoul School for the Deaf in Jongno-gu is set to be widened after nine years of delays. The stretch has long posed difficulties for students with disabilities and wheelchair users, and efforts to secure funding for improvements repeatedly stalled despite persistent calls from residents.

Yun Seon-hui, vice chairwoman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and a Democratic Party of Korea member representing Jongno District 1, announced Monday that she had secured 619 million won ($461,000) in special adjustment grants from the Seoul Metropolitan Government for renovation work around the Seonhigung site.

The project covers the area around 1-42 Singyo-dong, Jongno-gu. The centerpiece is the removal of a concrete protrusion in front of Seoul School for the Deaf to widen the footpath, along with improvements to surrounding facilities.

The path is used daily by students commuting to Seoul School for the Deaf and Seoul School for the Blind, as well as residents visiting a nearby welfare center for people with disabilities. The concrete structure has restricted wheelchair movement and raised safety concerns for pedestrians.

Calls for improvements date to November 2017, when 247 residents of Cheongun-hyoja-dong filed a collective complaint. The need for action was raised every year in subsequent community meetings, but the project made little headway. Budget proposals were rejected in both 2019 and 2021 on the grounds that the site did not qualify as a designated heritage property.

The project is also notable for combining pedestrian improvements with cultural heritage preservation. Beneath the concrete structure slated for removal lies a stone retaining wall believed to be part of the historic Seonhigung site. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to install a wall that complements the stonework and to improve drainage to reduce contamination from rainwater runoff.

Jongno-gu is expected to begin design work this year and complete construction in the first half of 2027.

Yun also secured 400 million won in special adjustment grants for a separate project to improve sloped alleyways and aging sidewalks in the Pyeongchang-dong area. That project will install eco-friendly steps and repave footpaths along sections where residents have raised complaints.

A planned restroom replacement project at Suseong Valley on Inwangsan was excluded from this round of grants because it still requires a heritage impact review. Yun said she plans to work with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno-gu to secure additional funding.

"The renovation around the Seonhigung site is not simply about fixing aging infrastructure — it is about changing the daily lives of residents who have endured inconvenience for far too long," Yun said. "I will see this project through to the end so that students with disabilities and wheelchair users can move around more safely."