From Gwanghwamun Square to Seoul Station and the new City Hall, the city has been home to many restoration and development projects in recent years at a number not seen since the Park Chung Hee administration.

In the 1970s, the dictator restored historic structures by arguing that they were related to the important issue of national defense.
But in the ensuing decades that brought regime changes and tumultuous democratization movements, preservation efforts simply weren’t a priority for the government or everyday people.

Its efforts are buoyed by increased awareness of cultural properties and the recent Unesco recognition of several Korean heritage sites, including the royal tomb in 2009, as well as by the return of stolen relics, like the case of the Uigwe royal protocol books last year.

Early this month, the government announced that it will continue such initiatives by restoring the Seoul wall by 2015.

“Korea is the only existing castle city in the world,” Mayor Park Won-soon said. “With the restoration, the Seoul wall will be a place of pride and an attraction for foreign tourists.”   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read much more about the restoration of the various historic sites at the link.  I have always felt that the Seoul government should restore the old fortress walls in order to give the city a unique feature unlike any other major city in Northeast Asia to make it stand out.  As it is right now there is no feature of Seoul that pops to mind that international tourists would want to see.  The fortress walls would definitely be a unique attraction especially if it becomes a popular thing to hike the length of the walls while visiting the country.

Seoul’s average fine dust level fell to a record low this year, thanks to the municipal government’s anti-pollution campaign and fewer outbreaks of yellow dust from China, officials said Friday.

On more than 50 days in the first four months of 2012, Seoul’s air quality improved to the level of Jeju Island, the southern resort island known for its pollution-free environment, the officials said.

The average concentration of particulate matters less than 10 microns in Seoul amounted to 52 micrograms per cubic meter in the January-April period, the lowest level since 1995 when the city’s first test produced a reading of 78 micrograms per cubic meter.

In 2003, the average dust concentration in Seoul reached 79 micrograms per cubic meter, while it dropped to 55 micrograms per cubic meter in 2010.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government attributed the gradual reduction of dust density to clean air drive by the city’s autonomous districts and a noticeable decline in yellow dust blowing from China.  [Yonhap]

I do have to say though that every time I go back to visit Seoul the air quality and environment in general in the city is definitely improving but I am not about to believe that it is on par with Cheju island.

Most sexual offenses on the subway occurred on Line No. 2, the Seoul Metropolitan Police said Sunday. Based on investigation of 345 sex offenders apprehended on subway trains since January, the subway police squad said line No. 2 saw 213 or 61.7 percent of all offenses. It was followed by Line No. 4 (52 or 15.1 percent) and Line No. 1 (18 or 5.2 percent).

Lee Sang-man, a senior officer at the Seoul subway police squad, said such crimes occur most frequently between Seoul National University and Jamsil stations. “The reason seems to be that many women commute to the Gangnam region and they wear relatively low-cut dresses and short skirts,” he claimed.

Some 221 or 64.1 percent of the offenders groped women on the subway trains, mostly during morning rush hours. The hours between 7 and 9 a.m. were the most dangerous time for women since many people rush into or out of subway trains at the same time and many victims reluctantly ignore the groping as they are in a hurry to get to work.

The evening rush hour accounted for 87 offenses or 25.2 percent. Almost no sexual offenses occurred outside peak hours.

Most sex offenders were in their 30s (44.6 percent), followed by those in their 20s (26.4 percent) and those in their 40s (20.9 percent). Office workers accounted for the largest portion with 143, followed by the unemployed (79), college students (24), and civil servants (seven).  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Via Ottmar.

Beautiful picture of the snow falling in one of my favorite areas of Seoul.

Via Robert Koehler’s Photoblog.

 The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to raise public transportation fares by 150 won (US$0.13) next month to make up for rising deficits from transfer fee discounts and energy costs, officials said Wednesday.

The city government has come up with a proposal to raise bus and subway fares from 900 won to 1,150 won (traffic card fares for adult) next month, while freezing prices for students and children, officials said.  [Yonhap]

A popular stream running through downtown Seoul, which is visited by millions of people annually, has been severely polluted by bacteria, a report by the city government showed Tuesday.

According to the report, submitted to the Seoul council member Jang Hwan-jin of the Democratic Party, parts of the Cheonggyecheon stream contain as many as 53 times the legal limit of colon bacillus. The standard for the number of bacteria for a body of water suitable for swimming is 1,000 per 100 milliliters.

The study checked for water quality from January to September this year at three different locations along the stream, which stretches for 8.4 kilometers under more than a dozen bridges through Seoul.

The water under the Mojeon Bridge upstream had 7,201 bacteria per 100 milliliters, more than seven times the limit. But farther downstream toward the eastern end, water samples contained 53,303 bacteria.  [Korea Herald]

The last time I visited the Cheonggyecheon earlier this summer it didn’t look polluted to me though I did notice what appeared to be more litter around the stream than I had seen in prior years.  Well at least they haven’t blamed the pollution on USFK yet. 

Over at Robert Koehler’s Travelblog he has some beautiful photos posted of the sunrise over Seoul from Mt. Ansan that are definitely worth checking out.

South Korea will sell new multiple-ride transit passes from December to foreigners visiting the capital area for their convenience, the government announced on Wednesday.

The plan was part of a set of measures jointly announced by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs to improve the nation‘s public transportation system through deregulation.

The transit pass, called “M (metropolitan)-Pass”, allows passengers of the mass transit system linking Seoul with adjacent cities to take a certain number of pre-purchased trips within a fixed period of time.

The pass would help save foreigners time and money, especially those making short-term trips, as it may offer varying discounts compared with trips that are purchased individually, officials said.

A one-day pass that allows 20 subway trips would be 10,000 won ($8.8), they said, adding that there will also be two-day, three-day and seven-day passes.

The passes currently are only for travel on subway lines and a railway linking Incheon International Airport to Seoul, but will later be expanded to include all regular buses in the capital area.

Discounts on admissions to royal palaces and other tourist destinations will also be given to foreigners with passes, they said.  [Korea Herald]

I can’t even remember the last time I ever used actual money to ride the subway in Seoul because of my subway card that makes using the mass transit system in Seoul extremely easy.

Via Robert Koehler’s Flickr page.