Residents near Yongsan Children's Garden cite blocked views
Park-facing units command premiums of hundreds of millions of won
Experts divided on supply impact; 'social consensus needed'
Is there another park of this scale anywhere in Seoul? It sits right next to the National Museum of Korea — building apartments here would be completely inappropriate.
— Jo, 60, a Yongsan resident of 20 years
Yongsan Park, one of Seoul's largest urban green spaces, has emerged as the most contentious flashpoint in the government's housing supply drive, drawing steady opposition from nearby residents. Within the real estate industry, opinions are divided over both the rationale for using the park to expand housing supply and the practical effect such a move would have. The government has said it intends to examine housing supply possibilities across the entire Yongsan Park site, including the Children's Garden, but two competing policy goals — preserving urban green space and boosting housing supply — are on a collision course, and the controversy is unlikely to die down soon.
On Tuesday afternoon, the area around Yongsan Children's Garden inside Yongsan Park in Yongsan-gu was lively with parents holding their children's hands and residents walking their dogs.
A resident in his 50s who has lived in the area since 2007 said he had long been waiting for the park to fully open to the public. "It should not be made a political sacrifice," he said. "Like New York's Central Park, this place should be preserved for all citizens of Seoul." A man surnamed Kim, in his mid-60s, who visited the park with his granddaughter, also objected. "There aren't many places where citizens can comfortably play and rest," he said. "The park should not be destroyed just to bring down housing prices."
Even those who do not live in Yongsan were skeptical about building apartments inside the park. A 34-year-old surnamed Kim who commutes to Yongsan from his home in Seongbuk-gu said that from the perspective of a young person dreaming of owning a home, easing loan regulations to boost purchasing power would be more helpful. A 38-year-old surnamed Choi, visiting from Jungnang-gu, said he often sees many residents strolling through the park during the day. "Even if housing is supplied here, I'm not sure how much it would actually help young people," he said. Choi added that it would be better to fix the contradictions and gaps in existing residential support policies first, and treat development of Yongsan Park as a last resort.
Even within the same complex, units with a view of Yongsan Park can command a premium of hundreds of millions of won. Some people have even moved here from Gangnam because of the living environment.
— Head of real estate agency A in Hangang-ro-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Nearby real estate agencies also expressed doubt about the feasibility of the plan. Apartment prices in the area vary by hundreds of millions of won depending on whether a unit has a view of Yongsan Park, they noted, making strong resistance all but inevitable.
The head of real estate agency B in Hangang-ro-dong, Yongsan-gu, said the park development plan has already been partially priced into apartment values. "Even within the same building and the same unit size, complexes with a clear view of the park go for nearly 500 million won more," he said. The head of real estate agency C near Yongsan Park said the park had effectively been regarded as a permanent view until talk of development began. "The price gap based on the view could be even larger than for Han River-facing complexes," he said.
The head of agency A said most residents consider the plan out of the question, adding that some had moved to the area specifically in anticipation of the park's full opening. He also warned that developing the site without obstructing views would be difficult, since a large number of surrounding apartment buildings face the park. The head of agency C said that given the many hurdles involved, it could take more than a decade before anything is realized.
With both sides holding firm, experts are also divided. An anonymous real estate expert said it was contradictory for a government in the same political lineage as the Roh Moo-hyun administration — which originally advanced the Yongsan Park development project — to now reverse course. "They should exhaust every other supply option first and use this as a last resort," the expert said. "Instead, they've moved too early and too ideologically."
Ham Young-jin, head of the real estate research lab at Woori Bank, said the location is well suited for providing quality housing for newlyweds and young people, but cautioned that developing urban green space requires thorough discussion and social consensus. "Yongsan Park development is not something to be rushed — it should be pursued with medium- to long-term effects in mind," he said.
Meanwhile, some argued that the outcome would hinge on the specifics of any plan. Choi Won-cheol, a professor at Yonsei University's advanced course in future real estate development, said that well-landscaped, forest-adjacent complexes such as those in Mok-dong enjoy high resident satisfaction and draw many outside visitors. "If Yongsan Park is developed while preserving its green space, it could actually enhance both access to the park and market stability at the same time," he said.
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