Dongjak-gu Charts Ambitious Future with Mega-Scale Development and 'Zero Energy Bill' Apartments

Seoul's Dongjak-gu is set to shed its image of aging residential areas and embark on a significant urban transformation by developing large-scale apartment complexes and promoting an apartment model that significantly reduces heating and cooling costs. Park Il-ha, the head of Dongjak-gu Office, highlighted the district's major changes as key achievements of the 8th popularly elected administration, emphasizing that now is a crucial time for Dongjak-gu to rebuild its urban landscape.

Currently, over 75% of Dongjak-gu's total development target area, approximately 920,000 pyeong (about 3.04 million square meters), is in the development project phase. Following the commencement of construction in some sections of the Noryangjin New Town, new apartment complex construction is scheduled to begin in various areas this year. The development of the former Noryangjin District Office site is planned as a 49-story super-tall complex, expected to generate economic value exceeding 1 trillion won, create thousands of jobs, and increase annual tax revenue by billions of won. It is also anticipated to yield over 100 billion won in net fiscal profit through land sales and other means.

In an interview with Financial News, Dongjak-gu Office Head Park Il-ha revealed that the district is piloting the 'Zero Heating/Cooling Cost Apartment' model, utilizing fuel cell heat and heat pumps, on a large-scale complex basis, marking a world-first. Dongjak-gu plans to expand this model across all redevelopment zones in the district, starting with the Yangnyeong Housing complex.

Dongjak-gu has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to attract the Korean branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) from the UK. The district aims to foster development as an educational and cultural city by hosting the museum in Sadang-dong, expecting to create employment opportunities in the cultural tourism service sector.