Day Four: Oil Tank Culture Park & World Cup Park

On the fourth day of our study-abroad trip, our group visited the Oil Tank Culture Park which resides in Nanjido, right beside the Maebongsan Mountains. The South Korean Government turned Nanjido into an oil depot (Mapo Oil Depot) in 1978 due to a rising issue of limited land for oil depots. Six oil tanks were placed in Nanjido (T1-T6) which held over sixty-nine million liters of oil. The Oil Tank Culture Park ran for 40 years without public access. However, when the World Cup was to be introduced in 2002, the park closed in 2000 due to safety risks. These oil tanks posed serious risks to the public because they housed large amounts of hazardous chemicals that are harmful to the public and the environment. If any parts of the structures holding these chemicals were to be compromised, then hazardous chemicals could escape and pose serious, long-term impacts to people and ecosystems. In 2016, urban regeneration of the site took place. Now the site is an eco-friendly park accessible to the public. Renovations of the tanks on the site include green roofs, theatres, green spaces, and libraries. It was so interesting to see the transformation of the Oil Tank Park brownfield site and to witness its new purpose.

The next site our group visited was the World Cup Park, which is located in Sangam-Dong and Seongsan-dong, Seoul. The World Cup Park covers five areas including Pyeonghwa Park, Hanuel Park, Noeul Park, Nanjicheon Park, and Nanji Hangang Park. The World Cup Park was near the Oil Tank Park. In addition, the two sites shared similar stories. The World Cup Park was originally a major waste dumping site for over 92 million tons of waste. Since the waste site was located near the upcoming site for the World Cup, the waste site underwent redevelopment in 2002 due to hazardous risks to the public and ecosystems. This is because dumping sites contain harmful and toxic waste that can easily contaminate the surrounding bodies of water (like the Han River which was located near the site), impose threats to ecosystems, and increase the chances of health-related issues. The addressing of these issues during the redevelopment of the site was to create multiple parks that included expansive green spaces of open fields and flowers, social areas for photos and sculptures, wind turbines, bike lanes and walkways, and beautiful viewpoints for people to see of Seoul and the Han River. The restoration of World Cup Park has allowed for the implementation of over 2.5 million square meters of eco-friendly green spaces, social areas, active transit lanes and walkways, and energy production. The World Cup Park still remains a landfill site with waste management being underneath the parks; however, extra measures were taken to prevent leakage of the waste including impermeable walls and slope collection. The site's waste is managed underneath the parks under impermeable walls where the waste is meticulously treated and turned into energy for nearby residential areas in Seongsan-Dong. I found the World Cup Park to be serene and beautiful. It is almost unbelievable to think while standing in a field of pretty flowers and grass that one is standing in a landfill area.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/193567_9899e8c565f94898a15463f429e2f273/1080p/mp4/file.mp4