Park / Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail

• As the Gyeongchun Line, a railroad that connected Seoul and Chuncheon, became a double-track train in 2010, the route from Seongbuk Station to Galmae Station (approximately 8.5km) was suspended, and the decommissioned railroad was suffering from garbage and illegal parking.
  Accordingly, Seoul city set the direction to proceed with the park development and established the first master plan in 2013.
   
  The Gyeongchun Line has a significant meaning in our modern history. The Japanese built most of the railways built during the Japanese colonial era to extort resources, but the Gyeongchun Line is a noble modern cultural heritage and living history that Chuncheon merchants made with their own hands to foster our national industry.
  
  Therefore, the leading spirit in designing the park was our attitude, giving back to the local community that suffered because of the railroad, and concretely unraveling the meaning in the urban context. In principle, by preserving the remaining modern industrial facilities such as railroads and bridges and the surrounding greenery, intrusion of new programs or new measures for visitors was minimized to return the space to the daily life of residents. So, we decided what ‘must be preserved’ and ‘what should be given back' to the residents on the Gyeongchun Line, and the ‘Gyeongchun Line Park Road to Cultivate Memories and Dreams’ became the new name of Gyeongchun Line.
  
  The first section designed for the first time was a separate housing area with a width of only 12m on the Gyeongchun Line with many arguments on the parking lot. This place had a complex village structure intertwined with narrow alleys, where development due to railroad suspended. Therefore, the 12m wide open space could have value as very precious village land. Accordingly, a garden was made with seasonal flowers and local flowers under the cherry and apricot trees under the theme of 'the village garden' to return it to the daily space of the residents, considering it to be a small garden space cultivated by residents together. And the forest trails along the railroad tracks were returned to a place where you can take a leisurely stroll while emphasizing the feeling of the space.
  
  The second section was an area where apartment complexes were built along with an iron bridge passing through the Jungjangcheon Stream. It was 40-50m wide with a nut pine forest where residents enjoyed walking and a vegetable garden along the railroad tracks, where the urban agriculture education program was operated autonomously. Although it is a spacious place for a designer to covet something, we listened to the residents and the local community as much as possible. Therefore,  a small space was created with the theme of community garden and production garden to revitalize the local community. However, two years have passed, and despite this year's heatwave, fruit trees and vegetables in the garden are growing well, making the village landscape varied. The iron bridge connecting the Jungjangcheon trail and the bicycle path was able to preserve the nostalgia of the Gyeongchun Line while preserving former faces as much as possible.
  
   And the third and final section is the Hwarangdae Station section. It was an area somewhat unrelated to the living area of residents but a good leisure space for taking a walk and having a picnic. Since it was decided in principle to preserve the Hwarangdae Station, which retains the old nostalgia, as a cultural property, the surrounding platforms, railroad tracks, and forests along the railroad tracks were also preserved as they were, and a space for events and activities in the village was created with a small book cafe using an abandoned train in a slightly relaxed vacant lot. Therefore, the platform became the stage, and the performance of the military academy cadets located right next to it was performed at the completion ceremony.   
  
  Now, after a long time, the railway park has found its shape, and the scenery of the village along the railway has wholly changed, forming a village community. The Gongneung-dong goblin market, which used to be a traditional market along the railway, was activated, and cafes, shops, and cultural facilities were built. ​The old Hwarangdae Station became a busy place for events, with vegetables and flowers growing in the vegetable garden along the railroad tracks, and education on eco-friendly agriculture being held at the village urban agriculture center. It was challenging due to too much opposition at the design time, but now it is very grateful that everyone understands it.
  
  As such, the Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail is a significant project as an exemplary case of urban regeneration and regional revitalization through the conversion of abandoned industrial facilities in the city into a park.

• Gyeongchun Line Forest Trail
• Location | Seoul
Completion | 2016  Scope | DD, CD