Recently, we took the free guided tour of the Seoul City Hall, called the Tong Tong Tour Program. From someone who's never been to any city hall in Korea, this was one great experience. We knew the Seoul City Hall looks magnificent from the outside but we didn't have any idea that it looked this impressive on the inside too. In fairness, we didn't really expect much aside from it having the usual facilities that most city halls have. This one has all that and more, much more.
We took the Sunday morning 10:20 am tour. Our guide, Miss Jinju was inside by the front door and she greeted us with a warm smile. After greetings and introductions, she proceeded with the tour. Starting from the ground floor, to the Sky Plaza at the 9th floor, to the library, and down to the Citizen's Hall at the basement. Also, if you watched episode 130 of Running Man (the one that aired January 27, 2013), some of the places inside the City Hall will be familiar.
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| Once you arrive inside the City Hall, look for this Tong Tong Tour sign. Your guide will be standing beside it. |
The new city hall is located just behind the old city hall. The old city hall is now converted into the Seoul Metropolitan Library. The old city hall building has been occupying that spot since 1926. It is also registered as a cultural heritage, number 52 to be exact. Hence, meticulous efforts were taken to preserve the facade of the old city hall building.
The design of the new building was selected through a design competition. Building it came with challenges too, since Deoksugung Palace is just across the street and nothing can be constructed within 100 meters. Also, there is a height limit that must be adhered to.
The facade is made up of 7,300 sheets of glass, 1,700 of which had to be custom made one by one because of the curves. These are also highly efficient glass made with three types of coating. Compared to regular glass, they are twice as effective at blocking heat. This new building opened its doors to the public in October 2012. The design is not only aesthetically pleasing, being inspired by the eaves of a hanok house. 60% of the space inside is for the officials, while 40% is for the citizen's use.
The lobby is called as the Eco Plaza. Here, one of the most eye-catching features is the 28 meter high 'Green Wall' that spans seven stories and covers 1,600 square meters of space, and is made up of 14 different species of plants. Don't bother asking if they are fake or real. We assure you that they are VERY real. If you paid attention during Science class in grade school, you'll know that plants release oxygen during photosynthesis so their existence here has a practical purpose. The wall of plants here also serves to help keep the indoor temperatures low during summer and purifies the air by filtering negative ions.
The other eye-catching feature at the lobby is this huge bunch of balloons hanging from the top. We thought they were there for a celebration or something. Turns out it is actually an artwork made by Jeon Su-cheon that was selected through a competition titled Meta Epic: Seobeol (Seobeol is the old name of Seoul). This gigantic tornado of polycarbonate water drops hanging from the ceiling strongly expresses the dream and goal of eco-city, Seoul. It takes the shape of tornado energetically uprising with the water drops, which symbolize life, water, air and light, and these drops are the motif of the work. It is also showing dynamic energy for creating new history after the long exchange of civilization and history of Seoul.
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| 8th floor art exhibition space |
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| 9th floor Sky Square |
There is also a bridge that connects the new building with the old building and the bridge takes you right to the library. The library comes with a separate tour but this tour comes with a quick glimpse of the old city hall and the new library.
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| Planning and Situation Room |
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| Reception Room |
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| Mayor's office |
At the basement (basements 1 and 2) of Seoul City Hall is the Seoul Citizen's Hall. It serves as a space for listening to the voice of the citizens and encouraging participation.
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| Relics Exhibition Hall with see-through floors |
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| Citizen's speech podium |
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| Media Wall |
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| You can also add your own message... |
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| ... and have it show up on the monitors |
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| At the Citizen's Hall Gallery, families can have their pictures taken for free, the pictures will be displayed in the gallery and the family can take home copies of the picture. |
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| Umbrellas with messages written on them. This symbolizes Seoul public officials' intention to be an umbrella for Seoul citizens. |
There's still so much more to see at the Seoul City Hall but you have to take the tour yourself to find out. We highly recommend this guided tour and hope you'll be as impressed as we are.
If you want to sign up for the tour, check out THIS post for step-by-step instructions.
| Language | Schedules | |
|---|---|---|
| English | Tue | 10:00 |
| Sat | 10:20, 15:00 | |
| Sun | 10:20, 14:20 | |
| Japanese | Fri | 10:00 |
| Sat | 14:20 | |
| Chinese | Thr | 14:00 |
| Sat | 10:40, 14:40 | |
| Korean | Tue | 14:00 |
| Wed | 10:00, 14:00 | |
| Thr | 10:00 | |
| Fri | 14:00 | |
| Sat | 10:00, 14:00 | |
| Sun | 10:00, 14:00 | |
City Hall Facilities Reservation: yeyak.seoul.go.kr
Seoul Metropolitan Library: lib.seoul.go.kr
Seoul Citizen's Hall: www.seoulcitizenshall.kr or www.facebook.com/SeoulCitizensHall
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