Redevelopment of Gwanghwamun Square Begins
With the redevelopment going on now this closes the square at least in the near term to anti-government protests:
![An artist's rendition of Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul after renovations with a larger plaza and fewer lanes of traffic. [YONHAP]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2020/11/16/4d400df5-5cc5-426b-893d-f005f991d95a.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s grand project to expand and beautify Gwanghwamun Square commenced Monday, as the Korean capital vowed to increase pedestrian traffic and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Joong Ang Ilbo
Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jung-hyup said in an online press briefing at City Hall that the Seoul Metropolitan Government was finally kicking off the project after years of planning and discussing with the public, saying his office was determined to swap the “greyness” of Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul with a “green and ecological” space.
The Gwanghwamun project was a core pillar of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s green initiative to redesign the central Seoul area so that people can move about more easily on foot rather than relying on cars and polluting the environment.
The city will essentially work toward converting all six lanes west of Gwanghwamun Square into a large park.
On the east side of the square in front of the U.S. Embassy, where there are currently six lanes, the city will add one to three more lanes.
