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Gangnam District in Seoul

Friday, 4 August 2017 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Gangnam District is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam literally means “South of the (Han) River” (Gangnam). Gangnam District had a population of 528,000, making it the 4th most populated district in Seoul. Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of 39.5 km² (15.3 sq mi). Until the early 1980s Gangnam and its neighboring areas had remained the least developed in Seoul, but a prodigious development over the last 30 years has earned it a reputation of being one of the most affluent, dynamic, and influential areas in both Seoul and South Korea as a whole. In addition, the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Gangnam recently hosted several international conferences such as the 2010 G-20 summit and the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.

Gangnam is one of three gu that make up the Greater Gangnam Area along with neighboring Seocho District and Songpa District. Combined, these three gu cover approximately 120 km² (46 sq mi) of land and had a population of 1,568,000 as of 2010, making up 20% of the area and 15% of the population of Seoul. The Gangnam District office has designated two smoke-free zones within the district. The section of Gangnam Boulevard between exit No.2 of Gangnam Station of Seoul Subway Line 2 and exit No.5 of Sinnonhyeon Station of Line 9. The second being the 836-meter (914-yard) section of sidewalk along Yeongdong Boulevard from exit No.5 of Samseong Station on Line 2, outside COEX Convention & Exhibition Center and ASEM Tower of the COEX complex.

Both the Greater Gangnam Area and Gangnam itself are widely known for its heavily concentrated wealth and high standard of living, which has been compared to cities such as Beverly Hills, California. The most significant indicator is its extremely expensive real estate. Seoul as a whole is already known for its expensive house prices and as of 2011, its average apartment costs approximately US$5,500 per m², but the average price in Gangnam is almost twice as high, roughly US$10,000 per m², which is 3.5 times the nationwide average. As for land value, the mere 40 km² land of Gangnam district rivals with the entire land value of the city of Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. Combined with the neighboring districts of Seocho and Songpa, Greater Gangnam Area accounts for almost 10% of land value of the entire country. While Seoul’s traditional business centers such as Central District, Jongno District, Yongsan District and Yeongdeungpo District still maintain their leading roles, Gangnam and its neighboring districts have fast become the new core across all areas of business over the last few decades.

The important business district around Teheranno (Tehran Street) runs east-west from Gangnam Station to Samseong Station and the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center–Korean World Trade Center complex. Several popular shopping and entertainment areas are located in Gangnam District, including Apgujeong-dong, the COEX Mall (It has an area of about 154,000 square metres, of which 144,000 square meters are on a single underground floor, making it the world’s largest underground shopping mall) and the area around Gangnam Station and Garosu-gil, with the Grand InterContinental Hotel, Oakwood Premier Hotel, InterContinental Seoul, Seven Luck Casino, and the Millenium Plaza. Cheongdam-dong is notable as an upmarket shopping area, with stores of global and local luxury brands, such as MCM Haus flagship store; Vera Wang‘s third global and first Asian flagship store ‘Vera Wang Bridal Korea‘; as well as French jeweler Cartier‘s Cartier Maison, located on Apgujeong-ro, which is the largest in Korea and at the time of opening, in 2008, the seventh largest in the world. The area has a large concentration of vegetarian and other upscale restaurants that serve Korean cuisine with a modern twist, namely on the main street from Bongeun Temple to Park Hyatt Hotel in Samseong-dong. Further attractions are Galleria Department Store, Seolleung and Jeongneung tombs, Trade Tower, Apgujeong Rodeo Street, Sinsadong Garosu-gil, COEX Aquarium, Kukkiwon (also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters), Korea City Air Terminal, Simone Handbag Museum, Bongeunsa Temple, Dosan Park, Metasequoia-lined Road, Nonhyeon Furniture Road, and Yangjaecheon.

Read more on Gangnam District, visitkorea.or.kr – Gangnam District, Wikivoyage Gangnam and Wikipedia Gangnam District (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.