Songdo where are you?

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One of the reasons that I really wanted to visit Seoul and South Korea was because of a new part of the city that was being built. I enjoy watching shows on Discovery channel and amongst one of my favorites is one called "Build it Bigger". I remember an episode where the South Korean government decided that they would reclaim a piece of land the size of Downtown Boston from the bay. On the land they would build a brand new city that would incorporate sustainable design principles, or more commonly known as Green building. For those of you who do not know I am a LEED Accredited Professional under the US Green Build Council.

From the airport in Incheon a huge 7 mile long bridge was built to reach the new part of the city. The bridge combined three different styles all in one. Part of the bridge would be a long causeway that led to what is known as a cable stay bridge, the rest of the bridge is actually a floating type bridge. Very cool stuff considering they built it on one of Asia's busiest barge lanes.

The city is going to be complete with all the finishing touches that a new city should have including its own 18 hole Jack Nicklaus Golf Course.

Elyse's Point of View---
We got up early on our last day in Seoul to go check out the city so Pete could view this area. I was interested also but of course not as much as Pete. We got on the train and we knew it was going to be a journey, just not as MUCH of a journey as it turned out to be. We got on the correct subway line and rode for about 5 stops to our transfer. Line 1 was supposed to go all the way out to Songdo. Little did we know that line 1 splits and it started the opposite way of where we wanted to go. We realized this 2 stops later and got of the subway to switch back the other way. This little mistake added an extra 30 minutes to our journey.

Once we got on the correct line we were on our way. There were 6 new subway stations that were opened and we had no idea which one to get off at to the see the new city. We decided to get off at the last stop and go from there. We realized that everyone got off the subway at the 2nd to last stop. We then proceded to get off the subway and walk up to ground level. It was a strange feeling walking through an empty subway station.

When we got to the top we saw nothing but construction and only one person that spoke Korean. I stayed at the subway entrance as Pete wandered around to take pictures of the new bridge. I was thinking "are we even supposed to be here?" The station was open so I guess it was ok.

We then went back down to the subway and stopped at other stations to see if there was more civilization and completed buildings. We were at least happy that we went to see. In 2 or 3 years it will be an awesome place.

Pete's view again....

Upon arriving at the last stop on the line I was pretty excited to venture out to see what new buildings and features had been built for this new part of the city. I got up top to realize that it was nothing more than a huge construction site for as far as the eye could see. I saw the bridge but we really too far for a good picture. I was a little disappointed on how little progress had been made for the city as a whole. Indeed there were a multitude of cranes and little out buildings that were constructed but by no means did this resemble a city.

I got back on the subway and stopped by two other stops hoping to see the new convention center that was built in the area. This for a fact I knew had been completed last year. However I had no luck in finding the completed structure. I decided that I wouldn't bore Elyse and longer and head towards the Gimpo Airport.

On the train we figured that we had over 24 stops to go. Elyse and I had made a bet as to when we would arrive at the station. I estimated 50 minutes while Elyse estimated an hour and 15 minutes. It was just under an hour and Elyse bought the lunch. I figure that in two years this city will be completed and actually be worth the trip out there, even from Seoul it wasn't that close.

There are some really cool renderings at this web site so you can imagine how the city will look in a few years. http://www.songdo.com/

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Photos

Elyse at train/subway station in Seoul
It took us 2 hrs to get out to Songdo from our hotel in Seoul... we had no idea what we were about to see.

7 mile bridge
The Bridge over the busiet barge lane in Asia

Songdo
being built

Crazy Building
Looks like 2 big bowls

Pete in subway
This was the entrance to the subway.

Comments

[Mom]

last day
You two are more brave than I would be in that consrtuction site.... looks cool ...what an idea!!!!