The city of Seoul has announced plans to build a floating swimming pool along the Han River by 2026, along with a marina with restaurants, a concert hall and an observation deck for watching the sunset. Seoul’s Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled the plan to create the Han River Art Pier while touring the harbor baths at Copenhagen’s Brygge Islands, a recreational bathing facility along the city’s waterfront.
The Art Pier aims to expand docking facilities for recreational and regular boats and help provide recreational and cultural activities along the river during all four seasons. Under the plan, an over water building with a combined floor area of 5,000 square meters will be constructed in Ichon Park along the Han River in South Korea‘s capital with a budget of 30 billion won ($23 million).
The building will house various cultural and recreational facilities, including a boat docking facility, exhibition and concert halls, restaurants, a sunset observation deck and a swimming pool. The swimming facility, which will cover some 900 square meters, will comprise a floating pool, a children’s pool, and a heated pool, all of which will use water from the Hangang River.
This year the city plans to conduct a feasibility test with the aim of opening the Art Pier by 2026. In the long term, Seoul authorities plan to expand the marina facilities to other riverside locations along the Hangang River to become tourist landmarks, city officials said.
In early March, the city also announced plans to build the largest spokeless Ferris wheel in the world. With an imposing diameter of 180 meters, the wheels is expected to be operational in 2027. The municipality hopes to attract new tourists to South Korea’s capital in the long term. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the plan at a meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin and several foreign envoys from 99 countries.
Called ‘The Seoul Ring’, the structure will be 180 meters in diameter and will be built in Haneul Park. A district known locally for housing the World Cup Stadium and a former waste disposal site, recently redeveloped as an ecological park. The cost of this project, expected for 2027, is 300 billion won (215 million euros). A significant investment that should above all allow the city to “develop its tourism activity”, as reported by CNN.
Without spokes or hub (the central part of a wheel), this new generation Ferris wheel will be the second highest Ferris wheel in the world in size, behind the Ain Dubai (250 m) in the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first spokeless wheel in the world in terms of diameter. As of today, the record holder is the wheel in Shandong, China. It measures 145 meters in diameter.
The ring will feature 36 glass cars that will run on solar power. Each of these will be able to accommodate 25 occupants. The project aims to accommodate 1,200 people daily. The city also plans to use augmented reality technology and to broadcast tourist information on the walls of the capsules.
An attraction that should boost the tourist influx that continues to grow in the capital. “It’s time to erase concerns and build the Ferris wheel as part of a feasible plan to reveal the true value of the Han River and pave the way for the era when nearly 30 million tourists will visit Seoul,” Hong Sun-ki, director general of Seoul’s Future Urban Spaces Planning, said at a press briefing.
