Comments on: Gov’t to push plan to build underground mall in Yongsan

By: The Yongsan “Central Park” Faces Another Setback at rokdrop.com

The Yongsan “Central Park” Faces Another Setback at rokdrop.com — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 03:37:02 +0000

[...] I guess if they can’t concrete over it, they will at least concrete under it. From the Marmot’s Hole: In a telephone conversation with Yonhap, a government official revealed that the government is considering building a mall complex—complete with shops, restaurants and movie theaters—under what is now the U.S. garrison at Yongsan, which is supposed to be returned to Korea in late 2008. [...]

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 14:23:48 +0000

This makes me wonder…By ‘park’,they mean it will be a ‘theme park’, don’t they?

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:35:48 +0000

Yongsan Army Garrison and New York’s Central Park are approximately equal in size, too — making the proposed “underground mall” just as idiotic as Sperwer makes it sound.

By: michael

michael — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:59:35 +0000

Korean development policy seems to be “plunder and pillage.”

By: Sperwer

Sperwer — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:38:52 +0000

This is an astonishingly bad idea on several levels - at least it would be astonishing anywhere but Korea. Imagine if Bloomberg announced a plan to build a mall under Central Park or The Department of the Interior announced it was spearheading a scheme for a shopping center under the Mall in D.C. What is Korea’s national government thinking about? Why is this even on its agenda? More proof about just how far away this place is from one in which there is anything like an appropriate balance between the public sector and private enterprise.

By: michael

michael — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:01:38 +0000

Maybe Lee Myung-bak will build a canal through Yongsan and they can have gondolas and call Seoul “the Venice of Asia.” Or they will just level everything and build a bunch of Richygoldville® apartment slabs for the speculators.

By: Gerno

Gerno — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 01:38:32 +0000

The Dragon Hill Hotel will stay with the Americans. Also, about 1/4 land will go for new housing for the American Embassy. Which is currently located on base, but will be moving to the side closer to the Embassy. About keeping some of the existing buildings, Several of the buildings, including the USFK Headquaters, are the original buildings that were built by the Japanese when they were headquartered on the same location. Yongsan Base hasn’t belonged to the Koreans in over 100 years. As for it becoming a park, believe it when you see it. The USFK gave their golf course back to Seoul and they wasted no time by putting up that monstrosity of a building that houses the new museum. There is too much money to be made with that prime real estate to just let it go to waste on green ground.

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:40:26 +0000

And the critics say Koreans are caught in the zero-sum game, and without creativity. This plan kicks the legs out from under that idea.

By: Wedge

Wedge — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:28:19 +0000

Sounds like a win-win: the public gets an aboveground park and the politicians get their kickbacks from the developers.

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:08:40 +0000

Darn it…It’s… I tried to stop loading the page, but it had already gone through.