Tourism at South Korea

World Cup Park

Address : Seoul-si Mapo-gu Seongsan-dong Nanjido-gil 45-1 near the Seoul World Cup Stadium. During 1970s, the area was used as a landfill as Seoul experienced rapid growth and urbanization. From 1978 to 1993, about 90 million tons of trash were dumped there, creating two massive mountains over 90 meters high. After Korea was named joint-host of the 2002 World Cup football tournament, Seoul began to transform the area into a park.
Introduction The World Cup Park was built to commemorate the 17th FIFA World Cup. Opened in May 1st, 2002, the park was once a 15-year-old landfill that held over 92 million tons of garbage. It took 6 years to stabilize the waste (measures were taken to prevent the garbage runoff from contaminating the environment) and an additional year to build the actual park itself. The park is located near the Seoul World Cup stadium, and is made up of five smaller parks including the Pyeonghwa 'Peace' Park, Haneul 'Sky' Park, and Noeul 'Sunset' Park. The park takes up a 1.05 million-pyeong area and is usually crowded with in-line skaters

• Pyeonghwa Park : Closest to the Seoul World Cup Stadium, it holds a pond, garden, children’s playground, and forest. It is often used as a picnic area and place for nature studies.

• Nanjicheon Park : The Nanjicheon Park was developed from the Nanji Stream, which flowed under the Haneul Park. It was once overflowing with sewage runoff from the nearby landfill, but it has since been beautifully restored into a beautiful park with clear water. It contains an outdoor stage and various sports facilities.

•  Nanji Hangang Park : The Nanji Hangang Park was developed on the banks of the Han River. It contains a campground, soccer field, basketball court, grass field, cruise ship port, and an area for nature-studies.

• Haneul Park : Of the 5 World Cup Parks, the Haneul Park is at the highest elevation. Once a mountain of garbage, it is now a green hill with 22 lookout points offering breathtaking views of Soul City, Mt. Namsan, Mt. Bukhansan, and Mt. Gwanaksan. 5 wind-powered generators provide power to the park and the park’s maintenance office.

• Noeul Park : The Noeul Park contains a 9-hole golf course and takes up a vast area of land that was once a landfill. The park was constructed as grassland because too much development may have caused damage to the environment, due to the buried waste. It offers a scenic view of the Han River and its beautiful sunset.