Volume of Green Space in Seoul Rises Since 2001

The Environment Ministry yesterday said the volume of green space in Seoul has increased since 2001, but that of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon has decreased.

From Nov. 9, the ministry will release its land cover map comparing changes in green space in the Seoul metropolitan area as recorded by Korea’s multi-purpose satellite Arirang-2.

According to the map, the share of Seoul’s urbanized area decreased from 61.56 percent in 2001 to 56.75 percent this year. On the other hand, that of forests jumped from 22 percent to 24.15 percent and that of grassland from 2.2 percent to 4.84 percent over the same period.

The ministry said the share of green space in the capital has grown due to green space projects, including those for Sky Park and Seoul Forest Park.

Gyeonggi Province, however, saw its urbanized land area rise from 10.32 percent in 2001 to 12.24 percent this year since it built several apartment complexes in farmland and green areas.

The map will be provided in electronic map form on the Web site www.egis.me.go.kr. Several parts of North Chungcheong Province are also included in the map.

The ministry will provide detailed information on changes in the purpose of land for those needing such data for non-profit purposes, such as research, education and public projects.

ryu@donga.com