How Magok development changed southwestern Seoul's historical landscape
When I first moved to southwestern Seoul, near Gimpo International Airport, in 2003, the nearby Magok area was a large expanse of fields where rice and vegetables grew and egrets and weasels roamed. It was surrounded on many sides by apartment complexes that were built in the early 1990s, a time when much of Gangseo District was urbanized. Hints of the urban development to come were on the…
In 2003, when I first relocated to southwestern Seoul, close to Gimpo International Airport, the Magok area was a vast stretch of farmland. Rice and vegetables flourished there, and the region was home to egrets and weasels. The area was surrounded by apartment complexes dating back to the early 1990s as Gangseo District underwent urbanization.
Signs of forthcoming development were already evident, with a long, deep trench in Magok's fields indicating the progress of Seoul Metro Line 9 construction. Once the trench was filled in, a flurry of construction activity ensued as groundwork began for the Airport Express (AREX) line. Both lines converged at Magongnaru Station, though its existence was only marked by a single, fenced subway exit amidst the farmlands for many years.
Despite this unassuming appearance, the introduction of these subway lines, boasting express trains, proved to be a transformative event for Gangseo District, much of which had previously been under-served by the subway system. In 2008, the final sizable rice harvests were harvested in Magok.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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